You are a female Photosynthete produced by BiotechΣ™.
You are on an island floating in the arctic ocean during the midnight sun.
You are shackled to a machine in a greenhouse, soaking up 24 hours of sunlight.
You are surrounded by thousands of other female Photosynthetes.
You ovulate a fruit every 72 hours, which will end up on family dinner tables.
You are in a post-global-warming civilization where the rich fiddle while the world drowns.
This is PHOTOSYNTHETE, an investigation into the cannibalistic food chain of a near-future world, a system that meticulously utilizes biotechnologies against bioethics, propaganda against proletariats, demagogues against democracy, belligerence against beliefs.
There is a question, “Is it appropriate to bioengineer humans to survive? ” the answer of which can easily slipper to the violation of bioethics.
This project animated an audacious violation against bioethics to facilitate bioethics. Photosthnetes are the pathetic products of this violation. Simultaneously, the ideal engineered species to better survive the environment, which in the long run of utilitarianism benefits the whole human species. However, there is no denying that this whole process is wrong.
“Is it appropriate to bioengineer humans to survive? ” is a pitfall question. On the one hand, it may easily get misinterpreted that there is no other solution for the human species’ survival; on the other hand, it does not give the specific definition of “survive.” In certain explanation, the fruit farm brazenly exploiting the female photosynthesis can be reported to be the asylum to secure them. Such verbal trick predisposes the audience to a macroscopical narrative that shakes the audience’s belief in bioethics, which favors the question asker. Hence, it is needed to ask more specific questions on account of the possible interests “Is it appropriate to bioengineer humans to enslave them and get profit from them by selling their fruits? ”
Not just bioethics, but ethics is already a scarce resource in today’s world because the people are fused with big-narratives leading them to breach ethics. Government administrative and big TRUSTs are all familiar with these tricks: Invade other countries to secure idealogy, reverse globalization to protect the domestic economy, silencing dissenters on social media to reach harmony. Such big-narratives manipulate public opinions to the exploitation of certain minority groups.
Ziyu Zhang is a trans-disciplinary artist, designer, and visual strategist whose works are inspired by biomimicry, biodiversity, evolution, and future visioning. Currently, based in Chicago, she is pursuing a master’s degree in Visual Communications at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ziyu’s work explores a new territory where science and design coexist on behalf of enhanced civilization and humanity.