Heart of Jesus
Stanley Lai
Do humans have an innate desire to disrupt the laws of nature? Throughout history, humanity has attempted to play the role of a “god”. Starting from alchemy as a study of science, the disturbance and disruption of nature becomes prevalent and mainstream. In the current status quo modification on nature is no longer mad science. The first personal computer named Altair was developed in 1974; however, the first successful genetically engineered organism happened in 1973. Human manipulation and its omnipresence around the world have its pros and cons. But, overmanipulating the laws of nature will lead to chaos.
In my project “Heart of Jesus” I tackle the idea of overmanipulating nature and the decay/destruction it can bring to us. When we excessively modify an organism or in this case, a plant, the structural integrity of the plant is altered. Genetic modification organisms (GMO) also known as Genetically engineered organisms is the direct manipulation of an organism’s genome using biotechnology. For centuries, humans have attempted numerous ways to alter an organism. Many notable examples would be insecticides and herbicide tolerance. In particular, grafting is a method that modifies a plant, not necessarily through genetics. Grafting is a technique where two plants are essentially combined to create one. Grafting is usually used to prolong the lifespan of a plant or enhance their structural integrity to strengthen their resistance. In retrospective, the idea of grafting may provide countless benefits, but the cons are also deadly. For example, new varieties cannot be developed, the life span of the plant life is short, and the spread of diseases may occur. These are all devastating impacts on an organism.
Through the usage of stems from the plant to the digital manipulation of my organism, I present the intensive over manipulation of an organism and crave to warn the audience on genetic modification. The process and techniques I used include “subtraction”, “burning”, “difference”, constant repetition, and countless layers to enhance my concept.
My first project focuses on a diagonal storyline where the plant starts off at its most original and healthy state; however, as it becomes more and more manipulated, the plant starts to decay and slowly loses its original form and vibrance. When a plant naturally decays it falls onto the earth waiting for next Spring, yet I chose to have the plant decay “upwards” to present the idea of unnatural decay. The color also plays a key role as the bottom right begins with a vibrant pink and progresses into colors we don’t normally see in nature.
My second project’s composition speaks from left to right. I let my original plant sit in my room for around a week and a half to have it actually decay and change color. Then, I utilized that scan to mimic and contrast the natural decay compared to decay from human manipulation that may cause diseases and unwanted outcomes.
My third project focuses heavily on natural decay and the interruption human manipulation has on it. As I previously mentioned, natural decay is when a plant falls from its stem, I let the leaf dry out for around 2 weeks to have a beautiful brown coloring. Then, with similar methods in all projects, I showcase the destruction and unnatural aspects of human manipulation.
I do not believe GMO is necessarily the worst thing ever because there are still many pros to the method. It can be beneficial in many ways like enhancing the speed of growth for a organism or ensuring a sufficient amount of outcomes; however, I believe there should always be a limit on how much we alter an organism as it may lose it’s original form and structure and bring chaos to the world.
STANLEY LAI 