“Turning the Invisible Visible”: Transdisciplinary Bioart Explorations in Human-DNA Interaction

Title of the Paper

“Turning the Invisible Visible”: Transdisciplinary Bioart Explorations in Human-DNA Interaction

Bibliographic Information

• Subject Area: Transdisciplinary Research; Bioart; Human-DNA Interaction; HCI Design and Evaluation
• Keywords: Bioart, Transgenic Art, DIY Biology, Community Science, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology, Living Media Interfaces

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Problems or Challenges:

  • The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) predominantly focuses on interactions with digital systems, with limited exploration of interactions involving non-human organisms and their environments.
  • There is a lack of understanding regarding the social critique, cultural production, and ethical considerations of bioart.
  • Current interdisciplinary collaborations remain confined to cross-disciplinary approaches, without fully achieving the depth of transdisciplinary cooperation.
  • Public understanding and engagement with synthetic biology and DNA technologies are limited by technical barriers and restricted access to materials.

• Why This Problem is Important:

  • Bioart not only fosters dialogue between science and art but also promotes innovative reflections on ecological and social issues.
  • By addressing public issues through tangible works, bioart enhances the quality of relationships between humans and non-human living media in a technology-driven society.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Through interviews, the authors explore how bioartists utilize interdisciplinary knowledge in their creations and investigate methods for public engagement with bioart. Additionally, the authors' team conducts experimental projects to deepen the interaction between bioart and HCI.

Solution

• Methods or Solutions:

  • Conduct interviews with bioartists to analyze their interdisciplinary fluency and working methods during the creative process.
  • Develop a bioart project, “Raaz,” which encodes 14th-century Persian Sufi poetry into yeast DNA and uses the transgenic yeast to ferment wine.

• Innovations:

  • By introducing the concept of “interdisciplinary fluency” in bioart, the study seeks to transcend disciplinary boundaries and integrate science, art, and social ethics in research and practice.
  • Combining the cultural metaphor of poetry and fermented wine with modern synthetic biology techniques introduces a novel form of artistic expression.
  • Enhances the accessibility and public recognition of biotechnology, providing a practical example for developing “living media interaction systems.”

• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:

  1. Encoding and Cloning: Translate Persian poetry into Morse code, convert it into DNA base sequences, and use synthetic biology methods to achieve genetic modification.
  2. Laboratory Tools and Procedures: Insert DNA into plasmid structures using Golden Gate reactions and integrate the DNA into the yeast genome through homologous recombination.
  3. Winemaking and Exhibition: Use the transgenic yeast to ferment grape juice into wine and present the results in an artistic format.
  4. Resource Sharing and Feedback: Conduct the project in community labs, ensure safety, and strengthen the relationship between the public and technology.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Outcomes:

  • Proposed a collaborative model between bioart and HCI, using an artistic perspective to provoke reflection on scientific systems.
  • Through interviews, revealed how bioartists generate interdisciplinary knowledge through practice and bring public attention to social issues.
  • Successfully completed the “Raaz” project, making the relationship between interaction and living media a subject of reflection.

• Advantages:

  • Provides an open approach and tools that closely link academia with public scientific understanding.
  • Encourages further research into “non-human biological interaction” and its ethical, social, and environmental implications.
  • Enhances the practical applicability and potential social impact of the DIY biology community.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Interviews revealed that bioartists consistently cross the boundaries between art and science, with their works carrying profound social critique.
  • The project achieved a transformation from cultural metaphor to biological realization, emphasizing DNA sequences and their manipulation as a space for technical and philosophical dialogue.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations:

    • The capabilities of DIY labs and funding resources are major constraints on project scalability.
    • Bioart may face significant ethical controversies and challenges in public acceptance.

  • Future Directions:

    • Explore more opportunities for collaboration between bioart and HCI in long-term projects.
    • Promote dialogue in educational contexts involving bioart and technology, achieving more socially meaningful interaction designs.
    • Experiment with living organism interfaces as a new material genre for interaction design and applications.