Lynn Hershman Leeson

Oh, Beautiful New World
Category
Article
Date
May 29, 2018
Source
Badische Zeitung
Author
Antje Lechleiter
Excerpt

Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” from the ceiling fresco of the Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous works of art history. The two outstretched, not quite touching forefingers are regarded as a symbol of creative power. In the exhibition “Anti-Bodies” by Lynn Hershman Leeson, which is currently taking place in the House of Electronic Arts in Münchenstein near Basel, the creation has a different face. For example, that of a cat that glows neon green. Through a process called genome editing, such a being can truly and truly be created. For this purpose, a green fluorescent jellyfish protein is incorporated into the genome of a cat. There is an apt picture of this far less heavenly kind of creation in the exhibition: two hands holding syringes, their hypodermic needles – almost – touch. To say: Man has taken the design of life into his own hands. In the laboratory…

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