Genre : BioArt
Support : transgenic petunia
Subjects : 1.) Technological Convergence

1.1.) GMO

The central work in the “Natural History of the Enigma” series is a plantimal, a new life form Kac created and that he calls “Edunia”, a genetically-engineered flower that is a hybrid of Kac and Petunia. The Edunia expresses Kac’s DNA exclusively the red veins of the flower. The gene Kac selected is responsible for the identification of foreign bodies. In this work, it is precisely that which identifies and rejects the other that the artist integrates into the other, thus creating a new kind of self that is partially flower and partially human. Developed between 2003 and 2008, and first exhibited from April 17 to June 21, 2009 at the Weisman Art Museum, in Minneapolis, “Natural History of the Enigma” also encompasses a large-scale public sculpture, a print suite, photographs, and other works.

Genre : BioArt
Support : transgenic rabbit
Subjects : 1.) Technological Convergence

1.1.) GMO

With GFP Bunny Kac welcomes Alba, the green fluorescent rabbit, and explains that transgenic art must be created “with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues at the core of the work and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture, and love the life thus created.” The first phase of the GFP Bunny project was completed in February 2000 with the birth of “Alba” in Jouy-en-Josas, France. The second phase is the ongoing debate, which started with the first public announcement of Alba’s birth, made by Kac in the context of the Planet Work conference, in San Francisco, on May 14, 2000. The third phase will take place when the bunny comes home to Chicago, becoming part of Kac’s family and living with him from that point on.