Molecules of Speed
Ariel Wilner & Marcelo Alexandre
Artwork concept
#3 . Lack of Light
About this artpiece
At the present time Humankind has developed tools that would allow effective help to solve different Global Tragedies, always affecting the poorest. Genetically modified (GMO) foods are capable of providing immediate solutions, some of them, to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Human Beings, many of them children.
There is very serious misinformation about the use of these foods / products. There is no scientific evidence that reveals any harm or supports the position that they are harmful and should not be consumed. The issue has become very distorted, and support for Precision Agriculture has already garnered the support of 158 Nobel Laureates as of today, May 2021.
It is important to highlight that the Governments are the ones that have to regulate its use to preserve the balance of our home Planet Earth, as well as the well-being of its inhabitants.
We have a huge responsibility to amplify this message.
The art piece Lack of Light passes first through darkness, and then through light, finally inviting a deep reflection on the part of the observer.
I intend from the Art, to generate visibility and awareness on the Golden Rice issue. This work is a brief experience, trying to generate observation and support to a powerful message, in a heterodox, immaterial, deeply empathetic way. It aims to generate a reaction in those who observe it. That reaction, that intellectual conflict that will inevitably lead to reflection, is the Artistic Piece. It is that moment in which the person who participates in the experience ends in a different way than when began to participate. That change, that spark, is the Art work itself. That act of reflection that will cause the observer to be questioned by his own rationality. Is what I saw true? Is that concept true? o Have I been a victim of misinformation? Then we will have achieved a change.
#2 . Disconnection
About this artpiece
I was invited to present an art piece to the Bienial Bit. I decided to work on the Tragedy of Hunger in the World and the resistance that exists to use an available and very effective resource, such as transgenic foods (GMO's) and the genetically edited foods (Crispr) to bit it. The title of the artpiece was "The Challenge of Life." Prior to the presentation, I shared the work with several scientists, from whom I asked their opinion. One reaction that was particularly significant to me was that of Rich Roberts, a Nobel laureate. With great simplicity and humility, Rich asked me to make the work more explicit, since he did not "get the connection." I decided then to reformulate the work, trying to be clearer in this new version. Rich's answer was the same, he still didn't understand the connection between the Work and the content. This exchange between Ariel the artist and Rich the Nobel, testifies how someone with a Nobel Certificate of intelligence does not see the connection between art and science. Rich also does not understand how art could contribute to generate visibility of science-based issues, crucial for the progress of humanity. The work Disconnection tries to document and offer a testimony about the sensory experience and its interpretation by the human mind.
#1 . The challenge of Life
About this artpiece
The theme chosen to work on this presentation refers to Hunger in the World in 2020. There are more than 800 million people who suffer from hunger, from just eating once a day to the extent of high malnutrition. It is not necessary to recall the irrecoverable damages that occur at the physiological and then anatomical level in the developing brain of children who grow up malnourished, nor in the conformation of intellectual capacities, as well as the irreversible damages in adults, and that speak in direct or indirect fatalities.
In this context, there are developed tools that would allow an effective help to solve this Global Tragedy, and they are genetically modified foods (GMO's) or those edited by gene editing techniques with the use of CRIPR Technology.
There is very serious misinformation about the use of these foods. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that reveals any harm or supports the position that they are harmful and should not be consumed. None of any kind. The subject has been distorted to such an extent that Sir Richard Roberts, a Nobel Prize winner, has assembled and organized a movement that has already been joined by around 155 Nobel Laureates proclaiming the safety of GM foods.
Having said that, I understand that we have an enormous responsibility to amplify this message. It seems that the issue is challenging and controversial, when it should be disruptive in the sense of demanding that these tools be used to combat the most tremendous of tragedies: The Hunger Tragedy.
This experience comes to generate this observation, to support this message in a heterodox, immaterial, deeply empathetic way, and aims to generate a reaction in whoever observes it. That reaction, that intellectual conflict that will inevitably lead to reflection, is the Artistic Piece. It is that moment in which the person who participates in the experience ends up differently than when they began to participate. That change, that spark, is the artwork itself. That act of reflection that will make the observer be questioned by his own rationality. Is it true what I saw? Is that concept that I had true? o Will I have been the victim of disinformation, to the point of having embraced a cause that falsely took me as a fighter?
ARIEL
WILNER
ART
Ariel Wilner was born in Buenos Aires in 1960. He has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (1985), MSc. in Genetics from HUJ (1987) and Doctor in Molecular Biology from UBA (1991). He works professionally at Genda, Laboratory for Genetic Diagnosis by Molecular Biology.
Currently, as a result of his interest in contemporary art, he develops artistic projects with scientific content in order to generate awareness and visibility about the areas of knowledge that concern him. His work crosses artistic and scientific languages.
Ariel explores the complex link between the visuality of the surrounding world and the perception of it by the human mind.
The visualization of his works becomes an empathetic, sensory and intellectual experience.
With the aim of conceptually containing his project, he creates Ariel Wilner Art on Instagram (@ariel.wilner.art) as a space of interaction with the community, through this social net.