- The first alternate reality to catch my eye was The Race, a project in which Michael Burton envisages humanity embracing the bacteria, viruses and parasites that live on and within our bodies. Instead of fighting a losing battling against drug resistant microbes, Burton’s works suggests we could heed research showing the beneficial effects of many microbes, and modify our bodies to encourage their presence.
- Many of these modifications are nightmarish, but also strangely beautiful. I found an
- image of a hand with multiple, claw-like nails for accommodating soil bacteria particularly disturbing. Similar uneasy feelings were created by a straw mask through which the wearer was supposed to receive saliva-rich licks - and healthy doses of bacteria - from affectionate cows.
- Over in Daisy Ginsberg’s Synthetic Kingdom, it is bacteria that are being transformed, not people. The burgeoning field of synthetic biology is where Ginsberg’s interests lie, and she presents visions of the technology’s potential benefits alongside some more worrying scenarios. Diagrams and illustrations show how manufacturing could be transformed, with microchips and biodegradable plastics grown by microbial factories. Fluorescent kidney stones and a golden colon hint at what might happen if engineered bacteria were to infect our bodies, with beautiful, if fatal, effects.
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