<3 Sarah Becker, Interdisciplinary Sculpture, Spring 2023 <3

what about a lil hankie pankie?

a lil’ overview

The physical process for creating “bio art” involves/revolves/parallels the theoretical and ethical implications inherent to the practice. What is the ethical limit in the use of living matter to create art? Where is the boundaries in materials’ autonomy and ability to consent (when the material is a living entity in itself?)

For example, the difference between growing a tree into a chair vs harvesting a tree’s wood to build a chair. Both involve a collaboration of person and material. In the instance of the wood we are manipulating a material that is no longer actively living. The wood can still promote life, contain life, prolong or benefit life, but it is no longer living itself. In the instance of the tree we are manipulating its growth into our desired form. The living tree still has its own active behaviors, growth patterns, internal processes (photosynthesis/cell division) and external processes (animal interaction and disease). We are working in collaboration both with the inanimate material (wood) and the animate life (tree). Forcing our will onto another living entity vs collaborating with another living entity within the interconnected ecosystems (macro and micro alike).

Is there a way for other organisms (non human) to signal consent? And how can we understand the consent in other organisms when we struggle with practicing consent amongst ourselves.

Henrietta Lacks and The Hanky Code

Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman, a mother, a wife and a Baltimore native. When at John Hopkins for cervical cancer treatment her ovarian cells were unknowingly collected and discovered to be incredibly resilient to disease. With her the use of her cells, known as HeLa cells, vaccines for what are now preventable illnesses (such as polio and Covid-19) were created.

Her family throughout this experience were treated like nothing. They were never made aware of Henrietta’s contributions, and were only addressed when the scientist wanted to take more from the family. Even though Henrietta’s cells can wrap around the world more than three times she was buried in an unmarked grave. Scientist used false pretenses, such as claiming to test her daughter for the same cancer that killed her mother, to gather more cells.

The Hanky Code, which origins can be traced to gay and queer culture, is way of indicating someones sexual interests, rolls, preferences, and fetishes through the use of different colors and pocket position (left back pocket meaning dominant and right back pocket meaning submissive). The Hanky Code is not a clear Yes or No, but it is a way of communicating and indicating compatibility between partners without needing to ask with words. Consent, safe words, and limits still need to be discussed but the code allowed for folx to gage interest and approach individuals with those interest to promote safety within a marginalized community.

The Hanky Code is an example of the sociological theory of Symbolic Interaction (SI). SI is the inverse of instinct. It is defined as the ability to associate meaning towards people, places or things and is a learned behavior. An example can be that we associate designer brands, for instance the LV logo, with wealth. These learned behaviors, the ability to accumulate knowledge through experiences, is what makes humans such a formidable species. It can be used for good, as in traffic lights as a way to prevent car collisions. Or for bad, as in harmful stereotypes associated with race.

Left Pocket Fucker / Right Pocket Fuckee

Recipe 😉

Step 1: Pick your container to grow your bacteria on. Container must be safe for high temperatures to not melt/distort in the auto clave. I used a baking pan.

Step 2: Laser cut on Kapton material. (Kapton is able to sustain high temperatures/steam without distorting) After it has been laser cut scrub it really well to remove any debris and place the stencil in the basket to get autoclaved.

Step 3: Make the Agar Medium. When finished place it in the basket to be autoclaved,

Step 4: CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN! Make sure all medium, containers and tools are sterilized.

Step 5: Melt Agar Media in microwave and pour into container. Allow Media to cool.

Step 6: Using sterile tweezers carefully without touching any surfaces, transfer template to the container of solidified Media. Carefully align stencil with the container using a sterile loop tool to press the stencil down and remove any air bubbles. (Think of putting a screen protector on phone

Step 7: Microbial Vape! Vape the bacteria onto the plate?

Step 8: Incubate! Check on it every few days to document growth.

Step 9: Using Sterile tweezers carefully