Mutants from Inner Space revisited 2
Günter Seyfried
2008, 2017/19, 202x
Artist Statement
An animated GIF has been translated into synthetic DNA using our special method. In vitro, we exposed this DNA to conditions of simulated radioactivity, UV radiation and toxicity. As a result, we recovered the mutated information and re-translated it into a GIF sequence again, making the mutations visible. In 2017 we repeated the experiment for a project at Ars Electronica using a different image. The concept is to repeat the experiment with a new image of a space invader again, together with my Japanese friends at the BioClub in Tokyo and show the results at the exhibition #JapanRevisited202x. Attached to this application are the images of the original experiments in 2008 and the images of the first revisit in 2017/19. For #JapanRevisited202x a new image would be produced in Japan at the revisit.
Mutants from Inner Space revisited, is from the same work series - Polycinease - as the work I showed and talked about at the Cultural Forum of the Austrian Embassy in Tokyo in 2018. The symbolic representation that would be used to revisit Japan and to revisit the experiment of this art work again is a space invader recreated from the iconic computer game Space Invaders, which was created by Tomohiro Nishikado and manufactured by the Taito Corporation became a synonym for video games as such and can be regarded as one of the many Japanese global success stories.
Artist Bio
Günter Seyfried is an Austrian artist, who lives and works in Vienna. He has a background in medicine and psychology, which he studied at the University of Vienna, and has strong links to the arts, having graduated from the University of Applied Arts Vienna (Department of Digital Art). He is teaching at the New Design University in St. Pölten and at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. He combines science and art education and develops projects as an independent artist, participating in national and international exhibitions and publications. He is a founding member of pavillon_35 — Gesellschaft für wissenschaftsbasierte Kunst.