LIVING WASTE
DOC 234—34/2
2022-Ongoing
Living Waste sets out to legally declare this vitrine as a genetic engineering facility in Berlin to house the very much living “waste” that is leftover from genetic modification experiments using CRISPR cas-9 technologies and the culturing process of genetically modified organisms.
The algae species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is of particular interest for genetic engineering to create many different desired biological products, including biofuel and pharmaceuticals. However, the laws governing genetic modifications in Germany come with special considerations and regulations.
“Living Waste” aims to reveal the systems of bureaucracies that are entangled and entrap the bodies of these algae and ask questions about what happens when life as a living material and genetically modified bioproduct is discarded as “waste”.
“Living Waste” will be fully installed in the upcoming months and then will be in the exhibition “Nach der Natur” (After Nature) until 2024.
Living Waste has been commissioned by the Humboldt Labor at the Humboldt Forum with the support of the UniSysCat Cluster of Excellence.