Byron Rich
ART Habens
ethics of our use of the HeLa cell is very debatable , and we are open to this criticism as it offers a portal to discussing the ethics of how the HeLa cell came to prominence in the first place . The HeLa cell is important because it was the first recognized immortal cell line , however it was taken without permission from an African America woman , Henrietta Lacks , in the 1950s as she was dying from cervical cancer . From there it became an indispensible research tool , but also a huge money generator , for cultures were commoditized and sold to labs across the world . Her family didn ’ t know that her cells lived on beyond her death , nor did they receive any kind of monetary compensation .
With all that said , IMMOR ( t ) AL is highly contentious as it delves deeply into institutionalized racism , and issues surrounding self-ownership and governance , especially on the part of marginalized sectors of society . It ’ s a very sad piece in many ways . Controlling whether these cells live or die via a highly subjective interpretation of brain activity is a bit unsettling .
( in collaboration with Ian F . Thomas and Alex Derwick )
As for how the collaboration came about , it really started as a conversation in my living room . Heather had just finished a very well know book about Henrietta Lacks , and I had just found an EEG setup to play around with . I wondered about controlling an incubator with an EEG , and John said he could make it happen by building custom software , and here we are ! John is a brilliant programmer , and Heather find nuance in ideas and concepts that I would never notice . It ’ s a very healthy collaboration .
Another interesting project of yours that has particularly impacted on me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled Autonomous Player Simulation , that probes the capability of a medium to offer constructed realites to whom we relate . While questioning about the disconnect between physical experience and the immateriality of the technological simulation
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