We were asked to provide a short overview of someone working in Bio Art for our classmates in Design Frontiers in Biology and Materiality; I chose c-lab, an art/science studio lab based in London. It’s led by two artists, Howard Boland and Laura Cinti, who aim “to produce cultural holes that allow artistic exploration of meaning and idiosyncracies that focus on life – organic, artificial, and otherness.” Howard Boland’s background is in math and software systems, and he is a PhD student at University of Westminster. Laura Cinti’s current work examines plants and interactivity. She is a PhD candidate at University College London. The work of c-lab has been exhibited at various festivals, including Festival @rt Outsiders 2009, Microwave International New Media Arts Festival 2008, and Mobileart 05, Göteborg New Media Art Festival. An interview with the lab partners is available at we make money not art.

Much of c-lab’s work engages with ideas of life in extreme conditions. In one of their more well-known pieces, The Martian Rose, they subjected two roses to Martian environment for several hours. Another project, A Rose for Mars, involves genetically engineering a rose that could survive an extreme environment, such as the surface of Mars.

The Martian Rose (c-lab)

Current projects include The Mars Project: Biosynthesizing Otherness, an investigation into the edges of acceptable parameters for life, and  Sonic Impairment: An Audio Portrait, which aims to convey the complexities of impaired hearing through spatial representation. c-lab has also conducted a number of experiments, including the insertion of firefly genes into E.coli cells to create glowing bacteria.

Their website includes a great list of resources on Bio Art, from links to researchers and performers to sources for lab supplies.