Artist Statement:
Human Nature is a site-specific installation that seeks to draw a parallel between spontaneous mutations that occur in DNA and our natural tendency to make mistakes is daily tasks. Using a manual typewriter I am transcribing human chromosome 11. As I go along the errors I make are identified using a computer algorithm, out put on velum, and laid over the original typed code to reveal the mistakes. The code is displayed in duplicate. Red signifies our common perception that an error or mutation in DNA is bad or even lethal. Green represents an error’s often unseen beneficial qualities such as creating genetic diversity, something required for the process of evolution (generally deemed positive). This piece asks the viewer to consider if mistakes are good or bad, and if they should be avoided or embraced as an important aspect of life. While it seems human nature to drive for perfection, woven into the piece is a thread of concern for how our modern society responds to making mistakes, and what the implications of masking diversity in favor of efficiency may mean in the long run.