Crossing Kingdoms

Oron Catts, Ionat Zurr and Tarsh Bates: War Memorial Library
Following a residency at the UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology at the University of Edinburgh, Oron and Ionat, joined by Tarsh Bates, present a work in progress exhibition, Crossing Kingdoms, poetically exploring the products of cross-kingdom cell fusion in synthetic biology. The work raises questions, through actual manipulation of life forms, about the practical and ontological nature and identity of novel organisms that fall outside scientific and cultural classification systems. In what ways do multi-kingdom cell fusions challenge our categories and understandings of life? How can they be taxonomised? What are the impacts on the envrionment and society? Crossing Kingdoms reflectively dwell into traversing tangible and conceptual borders of life and living systems.

In collaboration with the Cachat Lab (UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology, University of Edinburgh) and the Jamie Davies Lab (Deanery of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh). Supported by the Research Collaboration Award from the University of Western Australia.