All That I Am: From a Speck of Hair to Elvis Presley’s Mouse Model, 2012

“Barhad was interested in where exactly the sense of „self” lies, the “me” bit, when it comes to the design of living things. The project set out to design an Elvis Presley mouse. Although technically possible, the project had to remain speculative for ethical reasons. The first step was the acquire some genetic material containing Elvis’s DNA, achieved when Barhad managed to purchase on of Elvis’s hair on eBay. The next step would be to have the DNA sequenced to identify behavioural traits such as sociability, athletic performance, and susceptibility to addiction and obesity. Barhad then identified a company that creates mouse models for scientific experiments and would in theory be able to produce a transgenic Elvis mouse using the material he provided. Next, Barhad built a tower of custom designed environments based on ones used in laboratories to test traits in genetically modified mice. Each compartment simulated key biographical moments in Elvis’s life“

von Tony Oursler

Girl Born Without a Mother: Francis Picabia, 1915

Dancer: Man Ray, 1920

Crank Driven Mobile: Alexander Calder, 1932

a biometric device: a pair of Apple Earbuds.

to get blood oxygenation, heart rate and body temperature.

But we think of these tools as pointing outward, as windows, and I'd just like to invite you to think of them, as also turning inward, and becoming mirrors.

So that when we think about how they can be useful for self improvement, for self-discovery, self-awareness, self-knowledge.

--Gary Wolf, Journalist

Francis Picabia, 1915, New York

https://streamable.com/eljcwg