2019
seven Twitter actuated lab mixers, networked microcontrollers, electrical relays, stainless steel placards, laboratory llama feces
48 H × 58 W × 12.5 D in (122 H × 147 W × 31.75 D cm) including pedestal
In Contested Territories, laboratory machines activate when Twitter hashtags associated with the culturally contested status of Science are tweeted. As the networked devices intermittently check for the latest tweets, the mixers' movements materialize the sociopolitical complexities of language. Here, the mere mention of #sciencebased agitates tubes filled with laboratory animal feces. These laboratory machines activate when Twitter hashtags associated with the culturally contested status of Science are tweeted. As the networked devices intermittently check for the latest tweets, the mixers' movements materialize the sociopolitical complexities of language. Here, the mere mention of #sciencebased agitates tubes filled with laboratory animal feces. When taking office, the Trump administration controversially advised how to improve the chances of receiving research funding with the suggestion to avoid seven words and phrases like “vulnerable”, “diversity”, “entitlement”, “transgender”, “fetus”, “evidence-based”, and “science-based". Each lab shaker is accompanied by an etched stainless-steel placard with the corresponding Twitter hashtag that activates it.
In Contested Territories, laboratory machines activate when Twitter hashtags associated with the culturally contested status of Science are tweeted. As the networked devices intermittently check for the latest tweets, the mixers' movements materialize the sociopolitical complexities of language. Here, the mere mention of #sciencebased agitates tubes filled with laboratory animal feces. These laboratory machines activate when Twitter hashtags associated with the culturally contested status of Science are tweeted. As the networked devices intermittently check for the latest tweets, the mixers' movements materialize the sociopolitical complexities of language. Here, the mere mention of #sciencebased agitates tubes filled with laboratory animal feces. When taking office, the Trump administration controversially advised how to improve the chances of receiving research funding with the suggestion to avoid seven words and phrases like “vulnerable”, “diversity”, “entitlement”, “transgender”, “fetus”, “evidence-based”, and “science-based". Each lab shaker is accompanied by an etched stainless-steel placard with the corresponding Twitter hashtag that activates it.
...Through a diverse range of media and techniques, Laura Splan weaves a multifarious narrative of science. At times, Splan’s work brings to mind the Brothers Grimm, the miller’s daughter spinning straw into gold, a transmutation of material through manual labor and a bit of magic, unlocking secrets through a process of attribution...
Project Support provided by The Science Center Bioart Residency, Integral Molecular, Esther Klein Gallery, The Knight Foundation, The New Gallery, Lampire Biological Laboratories
Additional creative tech by Frank Musarra
Exhibitions include Esther Klein Gallery, The New Gallery
