Arts of Courage Fundraiser. Projected Animation. Chicago, 2013.
This regenerating bit of code art was originally intended to be a more literal simulation of various rates and statistics among BRCA gene carriers. When doing initial research, however, I was astounded at some of the figures – the relative rarity of this mutation in the general population, and the people in my life who are among those facing this challenge. What does it mean to be selected for a life of vigilance, to contemplate one’s own likely distress? I decided to keep the variables in the piece closer to where my imagination placed them while building it, because to me, that says something as well. The simulation – such as it is – runs independently and differently every iteration, and is so – like one’s own genetics – largely beyond direct control. I find myself watching the various “lives” of the iterations and rooting for them.
