ABOUT THE PROJECT
The expansive field of synthetic biology, or SynBio, has the power to transform our lives. As we redesign organisms to new ends and construct novel life forms, we confront deep questions about homo sapiens— the “wise human”— and our capacities for creation, destruction, recklessness, renewal, and hope. What forms of life are we choosing to cultivate? What will we nurture, and what might we leave behind? Who has agency in this moment of making, learning, and living with?
Inside Emergence, artists, scientists, and artist-scientists working at the forefronts of synthetic biology and contemporary art assembled around these questions. Visitors encountered human bones grown from synthetic mother-of-pearl; objects dyed with bioengineered indigo pigment; and living, microscopic tear glands that cry.
Emergence opened at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Having returned in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty.
Thank you PST ART; JACCC; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; and The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles for your support of Emergence.
MulitPlanetary Garden (live performance), AfroRithm Futures Group: Ahmed Best, Dr. Lonny J. Avi Brooks, and Jade Fabello, in collaboration with Dr. Drew Endy, Jesse Gilbert, Raquel Horsford, Malaya, and Oguri, 2024. Image credit: Jordyn Doyel
The Use of Life (in Relation to the Industry of Men), The Tissue Culture & Art Project: Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, with assistance from UCLA Art|Sci and the California NanoSystems Institute, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
of kin and bone and circles, Michael Jones McKean, with assistance from Dr. Stephen Fong, Professor of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, in cooperation with the Museu de Leiria, Portugal, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
IndiGROW, Dr. Callie R. Chappell and Dr. Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
ABOUT PST ART
PST ART is a groundbreaking cultural collaboration. Every five years, PST ART unites hundreds of artists around a single, electrifying theme at more than 70 exhibition spaces. While the theme is different each time, the heart of PST ART is always the distinctive cultural identity of Southern California, and the universal hunger for artistic and intellectual discovery. In a region famed for its films and theme parks, PST ART provides a different kind of gripping experience— and the most distinctively Southern Californian of all. www.pst.art
MicroPET Component Prototype, Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, Gregg Beckham, Patrick Chwalek, Ariel Ekblaw, Dr. Erika Erickson, Dr. Benjamin Fram, Dr. Nicholas Gauthier, Morgan Ingraham, Xin Liu, Dr. Christopher Mason, Natasha Murphy, Kelsey Ramirez, Krista Ryon, Dr. Sunanda Sharma, Dr. Braden Tierney, and Dr. Allison Werner, 2023. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Floating Future Gardens, Corinne Okada Takara, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Apoptotic Bodies, Eduardo Padilha, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Crying Organoids, Dr. Marie Bannier Hélaouët, Organoid Group, Hubrecht Institute of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, The Netherlands; and Dr. Albert Wu, Ophthalmic Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Stanford Medicine, with lab members Dr. Aditi Swarup, Dr. Hala Dhowre, Dr. Sanja Bojic, and Julietta Picco, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Pillars of Creation, Henry Tan, Masato Takemura, Pakchira Chartpanyawut, Weeratouch Pongruengkiat, Woraporn Pongsamart, Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, Jirapat Thaweechuen, Tanis Phongpisantham, Pongsakorn Wechakarn, Sumeth Klomchitcharoen, and Kookpedz Studio, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Emergence: Art from Life
October 8-December 15, 2024
George J. Doizaki Gallery and Community Gallery
Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC)
244 San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
FEATURED
AfroRithm Futures Group: Ahmed Best, Dr. Lonny J. Avi Brooks, and Jade Fabello, in collaboration with Dr. Drew Endy, Jesse Gilbert, Raquel Horsford, Malaya, and Oguri
Tissue Culture & Art Project: Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr, with assistance from UCLA Art|Sci and California NanoSystems Institute
Dr. Callie R. Chappell and Dr. Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong
Eduardo Padilha
Dr. Marie Bannier Hélaouët, Organoid Group, Hubrecht Institute of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), The Netherlands; Oncode Institute, The Netherlands; Dr. Albert Wu, Ophthalmic Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Stanford Medicine, with lab members Dr. Aditi Swarup, Dr. Hala Dhowre, Dr. Sanja Bojic, and Julietta Picco
Michael Jones McKean, with assistance from Dr. Stephen Fong, Professor of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, in cooperation with the Museu de Leiria, Portugal
Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn
Corinne Okada Takara
Henry Tan, Masato Takemura, Pakchira Chartpanyawut, Weeratouch Pongruengkiat, Woraporn Pongsamart, Jirapat Thaweechuen, Tanis Phongpisantham, Pongsakorn Wechakarn, Sumeth Klomchitcharoen, and Kookpedz Studio.
CyberBiome, Dr. Pat Pataranutaporn, Aria Xiying Bao, Brandon Dorr, Dr. David Kong, Pattie Maes, Dr. Galina Mihaleva, and Dr. Christopher Voigt, 2021. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
Emergence laboratory, 2024. Image credit: Carson Davis Brown
RESEARCH / PROCESS ARCHIVE
Separating bioengineered yeast producing blue indigoidine dye using a centrifuge. Photo credit: Callie Chappell and Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, ©: 2024 Callie Chappell and Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong
MEWE. We are the environment that grows the multiplanetary garden. Image credit: Ahmed Best, ©: 2024 AfroRithm Futures Group
Still image of a human lacrimal gland organoid. Blue shows a cell nucleus. Red shows a tear protein called lipocalin 2 (LCN2). Green shows a water channel by which water is secreted by the gland. Photo credit: Dr. Marie Bannier Hélaouët, ©: 2021 Hubrecht Institute.
Abrigo do Lagar Velho Long Bones, 1999/2024. In late 1998 a ceremoniously buried 4 year old child was discovered in Central Portugal. On analysis, the bone morphology indicated what at the time would become a controversial finding: that the child was of both early modern human and Neanderthal ancestry. Depicted are a set of the child’s bones, printed, taped and scanned. Courtesy Cidália Duarte et al, Michael Jones McKean
Pillars of Creation (digital sketch). Image credit: Henry Tan, ©: 2024 Henry Tan
ACTIONS / UPDATES
