TW Bioart (bioart.tw) is a Bioart community that focuses on stimulating the fields of BioArt and Science+Art in Taiwan, serving as a platform for interactions between biology and art and from which gathers people with interdisciplinary fields. DIYSECT had the great privilege to give a three hour presentation+discussion on the most updated research and documentation of the biohacking practices in the U.S.

1. Biotinkering as
Social Agenda (?)
DIYBIO + BIOART

2. Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) in Biological Sciences and Art

7. 2013...
Plants of the
Future

9. how does an artist gain access to a laboratory?

15. What are the cultural, social, political,
and philosophical implications of
biotechnology?
Are the societal benefits of practicing
Non-institutional Biology (DIYBIO/BIOART)?
Who gets access?

18. Biotinkering as
Social Agenda (?)
DIYBIO + BIOART

19. DIYBio (Do-it-yourself Biology)
● a brand, a cultural movement, and online community.
● The goal is to make biotechnology accessible and
“democratized” outside of academia and corporations.

20. The U.S. DIYbio code of Ethics was first drafted in July of 2011.
● Open Access
● Transparency
● Education
● Safety
Promote citizen science and decentralized access to biotechnology.
Emphasize transparency through the sharing of ideas, knowledge and data.
Engage the public about biology and biotechnology, and their possibilities.
Adopt safe practices.
Respect the environment.
Biotechnology should only be used for peaceful purposes.
Tinkering with biology leads to insight; insight leads to innovation.

21. Synthetic Biology & iGEM
Popularized the concept of standardizing biology
Computer Metaphor:
Manipulating organisms is analogous
to writing a line of code
Syn-bio
Automation
Optimization
Design Interface
International Genetically
Engineered Machines

22. Hacker Ethic
Knowledge should be free to access for the benefit
of all people. deconstructing
the “black box”
“We the biopunks are dedicated to putting the tools of
scientific investigation into the hands of anyone who wants
them. We are building an infrastructure of methodology, of
communication, of automation, and of publicly available
knowledge.”
Biopunk Manifesto by Meredith Patterson

23. Public Amateurism | Claire Pentecost (artist) .
The word amateur stems from the Latin root “ama-” which means “to love”
The public amateur does not claim to be an expert, but makes the process of
learning transparent for the general public.
EXPERT AMATEUR
Do you have to be classically trained
(institutionalized) to work with biotechnology?

24. The connection???
DIYBio
&
Bioart

25. Critical Art Ensemble .
Tactical Biotech
science for social resistance

26. Molecular Invasion (2002)
Molecular Invasion
at the World
Information
Organization
(WIO), Amsterdam

27. Mechanisms of alienation
Barriers between the public and knowledge
Causes of the lay-expert gap
what are the...
???

28. 1. Cult of the expertise
the notion that only a specialist should be qualified to understand and practice
a given subject, in this case, biology/biotechnology
2. Mystification of the sciences
the wonder of biology reaches the public/consumer market in the form of health,
beauty, and anti-aging improvements, or promises of pharmaceutical cures and
solving world hunger
-Claire Pentecost, Tactical Biopolitics

29. Demystify
the sciences
[discussion type]
reveal ambiguities and
contradictions in current
biotechnology
Open
laboratory
doors
[hands-on type]
give citizens the tools of
biology and teach them how to
use it
Perform
Public
Amateurism
[hands-on + discussion type]

30. #1 Learning in Public

32. #2 Bioterror & Bioerror

33. Bioterrorism Case against
artist Steve Kurtz from 2004-08
FBI & DIYBio Outreach Workshop in 2012

34. Statistical study
by The SynBio
Project in 2014
Media exaggerations &
fear-mongering

35. #3 Fear of the Unknown

36. Glowing Plants
Kickstarter raised
almost ½ million
dollars
Sparked controversy:
ETC Group launched
Kickstopper Campaign
against Glowing Plants

37. Artist Adam Zaretsky
emutagen.com
Workhorse Zoo (2002)
FIST.SAVE.MOP.BAIT (2014)

38. #4 Genocracy
personalgenomes.org

39. Stranger Visions by
Heather Dewey-Hagborg
(2013)
Latent Figure
Protocol by Paul
Vanouse (2006)

40. #5 Hybrid Practices
GFP Bunny by
Eduardo Kac
Joe Davis
(artist)

41. #6 Future Trajectories
democratization
for who??????

42. Start-up/
neoliberalist
Community-driven/
artistic + exploratory

43. Demystify
the sciences
[discussion type]
reveal ambiguities and
contradictions in current
biotechnology
Open
laboratory
doors
[hands-on type]
give citizens the tools of
biology and teach them how to
use it
Perform
Public
Amateurism
[hands-on + discussion type]
going back to this...

44. -Claire Pentecost, Tactical Biopolitics
“The bioart that I am interested in does not want
to become propaganda-ware for the biotech
industry. I make the assumption that it wants to
address a kind of problem in the world where most
people live.”

45. please visit…
diysect.com !
thanks !