Of Genes and Human Beings Who Are We, and Who Might We Become?

I. Our origins – Humanity’s history

How much of us is in our DNA? Our genetic code alone does not account for our personality. That’s why identical twins for example, whose genome is virtually identical, can develop in quite different ways later in life. In recent years, the scientific discipline known as epigenetics has sought to explain why this is so. The reasons appear to lie in the complex interaction between genes, proteins and environmental influences.

_Photo:

_{Spirometer for Measuring Lung Capacity with “race correction”
SPIROMATE AS-300 Riko, 1980s}

_{Spirometers measure lung capacity. To exclude deviations due to size, gender and age, corresponding information is typed into the device. It is also possible to note ethnicity. Some physicians still assume Blacks have a lower lung capacity than Whites. However, this supposition from the 19th century has not been genetically proven.}

II. Identity – What determines who we are?

What does our DNA tells us about us? Today, genetic analyses can reveal a great deal: they help us to solve criminal cases and better understand diseases. We can even reconstruct the history of humankind more accurately by examining prehistoric genetic material. DNA tests are now also used for personal genealogical research – and not just in the United States. Research into genetic differences has always influenced whether we see ourselves as members of the great human family or of discrete and definable groups.

_{Photo:
Candice Breitz: „Factum Tremblay“, 2009
From the series „Factum“, 2010, Commissioned by The Power Plant, Toronto, Courtesy: Goodman Gallery, London + Johannesburg}

_{In her video work Candice Breitz talks to monozygotic twins and asks them the same questions, but separately. The individual personal development of those portrayed thus becomes the focal point.}

III. Health – To heal, optimise or standardise?  

What happens when we alter our DNA? Genetics has opened up completely new possibilities for medicine to identify diseases, cure them or exclude them right from the outset. Today, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene scissors allow us to make targeted changes in the germline of embryos; in Germany, however, such changes remain prohibited. After all, can we even begin to get a sense of the possible risks of such procedures? 
 
_{Photo:
Alicja Kwade: „Principium“, 2021/2022
Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Roman März}

IV. Nature – A new creation?

What is it that actually connects human beings with other animals? Can we reverse the process of species extinction (which we ourselves have triggered) by bringing now extinct species back to life? What other contemporary global crises could genetic engineering influence? And how would this affect our own position within nature? The exhibition culminates in an open space of possibilities dedicated to contemporary artistic takes on these issues.

^{Photo: 
Christian Kosmas Mayer: The last bucardo, 2023
Christian Kosmas Mayer in cooperation with Phileas and in collaboration with Adam Searle; Lenders for parts of the work: Gobierno de Aragón / Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido; Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA); with inclusion of a work by Catrin Bolt}

_{In 2003, the Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo, became the only extinct animal species to be brought back to life – with the help of genetic engineering. The animal, cloned from cryopreserved cells, lived for seven minutes. Mayer’s installation uses material evidence to correlate the locally anchored cultural history of the bucardo with the story of its short-lived revival.}