Scientific data (RNA sequence) was provided by the Research Group of Prof. Janusz Bujnicki International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw.
VR narrative:
In EpiZone [V], the interActor is introduced to the virtual zone of elementary particles, to the "data garden", where "everything begins to be possible". He plays the role of an apprentice and at the same time a catalyst for processes, and in accordance with the principles of mimesis, changes his environment.
Guided by the female voice of the System, the interActor goes through various zones and stages of creation: it creates basic atoms that also symbolize the elements, learns to combine them in pairs, then tetrahedrons and into increasingly complex molecular architecture. This process leads to the creation of a new molecule: Vitruvian RNA, the threshold of a new labyrinth of life.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
EPIZONE V: Shifting Identities at the
XII International Biennale of
Contemporary Art Florence 2019
By evoking the notion of mimesis as a creative method of combining art, science, and technology, the project strives to propose a new quality or orientation of mind, by stimulating imagination and reflection, brought about through our attempt not only to follow and control in real-time but even to anticipate the transformation of data, shaping our future.
EpiZone V: Shifting Identities was inspired by the latest scientific research on the fundamental molecule of life – the RNA molecule from which, according to the RNA World hypothesis, the Big Web of Life evolved. Today RNA plays a key role in most cellular processes and the translation of the genetic information into proteins, thus it is considered a key tool of biotechnology and bioengineering.
The double helix of DNA, associated with stability, with continuity and determinism, become a cultural icon of the progress of civilization in the XX. Century.
RNA, as the expression of instability, diversity, changeability, and multiplicity of possibilities, can become an icon of achievements and transformations of the XXI century.
As a bio-molecule, RNA is not a static composition of atoms (balls & sticks) but actually a dynamic labyrinth of all its possible forms, which it has to pass through to achieve its final conformation and function. However, some RNAs, called riboswitches, like a “molecular werewolf” are able to adopt not just one but two (or sometimes more) alternative structures, which can be completely different from each other, depending on environmental factors. The primordial variability encoded in the chemical structure of RNA is used as a conceptual platform for EpiMimesis: Shifting Identities.