Visualizing genes and gender in speculative realities of the natural and the synthetic

Abstract

This paper examines the visualization of genes and gender through three recent artistic design projects which present ‘speculative realities’ on current and future biotechnologies with regard to both natural and synthetic DNA; also called Bio-Design or Bio-Art. NANO Supermarket by Dutch designers Koert van Mensvoort and Marco Rozendaal presents us with gendered products which may be developed through nano-scale biotechnologies. With Biotypography, Israeli graphic designer Oded Ezer ironically represents the serious male scientist in his laboratory and mimics successful scientists like the American molecular biologist and businessman J. Craig Venter who worked to unravel the human genome and developed the first cell with a synthetic genome. Protocell Architecture by British architect-designer-scientist Rachel Armstrong, who works with synthetic cells for architecture, features a female ‘creatrix’ in science, countering the representation of the male scientist. These projects bridge the gap between specialist knowledge in the vast field of biotechnological research and personal appropriations of science, and underline the importance of a personally experienced subjectivity and ambiguity as ways of appropriating and reflecting on science. Feminist science philosophers have analyzed the meta-narrative of ‘objective’ science as a male realm and ideology in our society. Science and Technology Studies have discussed the impact of visualizations and representations of science. The artistic projects cross these scholarly realms while gender operates at levels connected with language, imagery, actors, institutions and reception. The paper opposes the artistic cases to ‘objective’ scientific images which seemingly lack gendered connotations.