How Can Using Familial DNA Data Provide an Emotive Sense of Our Human Connection Using Creative Transdisciplinary Practice

Abstract

This research links three transdisciplinary threads of fashion, biology and technology looking at the potential of Science Art usage to highlight the importance of raw DNA data to human connection during and post the Covid-19 global pandemic. Using a postdigital human-centred methodology this paper presents self-reflexive practice based research into the question: How can using familial DNA data provide an emotive sense of our human connection using creative transdisciplinary practice?  Insights from this work led to designing a six-meter high installation involving six mannequins, each wearing a garment printed with DNA data collected with consent.  The garments were linked to each other using strips of LED lights, coded to the sound of heartbeats to represent the flow of ancestral DNA between generations.  The work aims to deliver cutting edge contemporary research to a wider audience, enabling individuals to own their own DNA data and Science Art practices to be viewed away from scientific laboratories, opening up a discursive space to encourage further conversations on what it means to be human.  The findings revealed the emotive ancestral embrace between generations and the comfort that we are never truly alone, connected through our DNA to every single individual on the planet despite restrictions being placed on us. Concluding, it questions the bioethical and humanitarian issues of DNA storage and ownership of life.