In recent years, immortal cell lines, usually derived from cancer cells collected from patients, have become an important tool in biomedical research. In Immortality for two, white blood cells – lymphocytes – will be collected from both authors and transformed in the laboratory in order to acquire characteristics of immortality. Marta de Menezes will immortalize Luis’ cells, and vice-versa. This will be achieved using a viral vector to introduce oncogenes (cancer inducing genes) in the cells – something that is today a standard experimental procedure. This way two immortal cell lines containing the complete genomic information of the two people will be generated. The two immortal cell lines are derived from immune cells, which are involved in the body’s defense. Thus, those cells will reject cells from a different origin, in the same way a transplanted organ is rejected. Therefore, the final irony of the artwork is the realization that although the cell lines are derived from two individuals who like to be together and love each other, immortality comes at a price – and that price is isolation. Thus, the two immortal cell lines can only be together artificially, in the space where their digital video projections intersect. These cells will outlive the bodies from which they were originally derived and, in principle, it would be possible to clone a new body from the immortal cells.
Immortality for two explores the concept of identity and the natural/artificial dichotomy, two issues that are recurrent themes in Marta de Menezes practice. It is also the first collaborative work with her partner, Luis Graça, a biomedical researcher in the field of immunology. The work is exhibited in an installation comprising documentation of the immortalization process, together with live immortal cells proliferating in tissue culture flasks, and microscope images of the two cell lines.
Luis Graça (PT)
Luis Graça has an MD from the University of Lisbon, Portugal; and a PhD in transplant immunology from the University of Oxford, UK. He developed his post-doctoral research first in Oxford and later at the Institute for Child Health Research, in Perth, Australia. He is currently Associate Professor at the Lisbon Medical School, directing a research group in cellular immunology at Instituto de Medicina Molecular. His most significant scientific contributions have been related with the development of strategies to teach the immune system not to reject transplanted organs, also known as immune tolerance. Currently he is extending his findings to the fields of allergy and autoimmunity (where the immune system attacks its own body). Luis Graça is author of 52 research publications, three patents, and is the co-founder of Acellera Therapeutics. Apart from his scientific research another interest of his is in the intersection between art and science. In this field Luis Graça has collaborated with several artists, including his long-term relationship with Marta de Menezes, and he is now scientific advisor for Ectopia and Cultivamos Cultura – two Portuguese institutions involved in fostering art-science collaborations. He has three publications in this field, describing the scientist’s view of art-science interactions.
lsgraca@gmail.com
Marta de Menezes (PT)
Marta de Menezes is among the first artists to work with biotechnology, contributing to the creation of bioart. She has shown that biology research laboratories can be used as art studios. Her many artworks have incorporated materials and expertise from different disciplines (CRISPR/Cas9, MRI, structural biology, microbiology, among others). Her work has been presented throughout the globe in exhibitions, conferences, and publications. A Portuguese artist with a degree in Fine Arts by the University in Lisbon, a MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture by the University of Oxford, with a ABD from the University of Leiden. Marta has been exploring the intersection between Art and Biology, working in research laboratories demonstrating that new biological technologies can be used as a new art medium. In 1999 de Menezes created her first biological artwork (Nature?) by modifying the wing patterns of live butterflies. Since then, she has used diverse biological techniques including functional MRI of the brain to create portraits where the mind can be visualised (Functional Portraits, 2002); fluorescent DNA probes to create micro-sculptures in human cell nuclei (nucleArt, 2002); sculptures made of proteins (Proteic Portrait, 2002-2007), DNA (Innercloud, 2003; The Family, 2004) or incorporating live neurons (Tree of Knowledge, 2005) or bacteria (Decon, 2007). Her work has been presented internationally in exhibitions, articles and lectures. She is currently the Artistic Director of Ectopia, an experimental art laboratory in Lisbon, and Director of Cultivamos Cultura in the South of Portugal.
martademenezes@gmail.com
martademenezes.com; cultivamoscultura.org
