Pithos

Terracotta, synthetic DNA, 8-channel audio ? Made in collaboration with Professor Volker Straub and Dr. Ana Topf, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University. Pithos draws upon the symbolism of the Pandora myth to reconsider the biological object, constructed through scientific language, as a lively subject - a form that gives and receives, contains and spills out, with unpredictable results. An upturned pithos is formed from clay and synthetic DNA that contains the encoded phrase, ‘What will happen if I store this thought safe within you?’. The accompanying audio, generated by custom DNA to speech translation software designed by Mackenzie and built by Étienne de Crécy, spills out into the space predicting possible mutations in the original encoded phrase. ?