Pete Wheeler
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History doesn’t repeat, But it rhymes Painting, media
From ‘Folk Art of the Apocalypse’. Image, detail.
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Johanna Zellmer Political aesthetics: When DNA sequencing meets contemporary jewellery Illumina genome sequencing flow cells; steel pins; Illumina NextSeq carriers; self-adhesive printed film; Eurozone silver commemorative coins
The emergence of Identity Politics in contemporary art in the late 20th century offers a relevant perspective on my work as a craft practitioner. For some years I have made work that comments on both the idea of nationhood, and the politics that regulate national borders. I am fascinated by craft objects that function as symbols for socioeconomic environments, and have consequently been using currency as a jewellery medium for some time. My most recent medium of choice are used Illumina flow cells: Medical glass slides designed for sequencing DNA code. Through the process of fusing, I am essentially turning instruments that measure biological data into a biological state of their own. The work poses questions about the technological advance in DNA sequencing and its potential applications regarding the nation state, borders, migration, embodiment of identity, and governmentality.
