Dead Life Live Life
Description
* This project was started but not completed in SS 2023 and will be continued this semester.
Dead Life Live Life is a sound installation work that sonifies the movement of DNA. This work was inspired by the poetic movement of DNA in electrophoresis experiments. Dead Life Live Life explores the materiality of DNA itself rather than genetic analysis, which is the general purpose of DNA. “Dead life got the same material as live life”, biologist Lynn Margulis said in an interview. This could be paraphrased as “Dead life got the same DNA as live life”. Dead Life Live Life poetically represents the connection between life and death by sonifying the DNA movement of an old persimmon tree planted in my grandmother's house.
Technical solution
1. Biological part
Instruction of DNA analysis
1) DNA Extraction of Persimmons
2) PCR Experiment (DNA amplification) / Gel electrophoresis (DNA movement & visualization) .
DNA of the persimmon is amplified through a PCR experiment. The amplified DNA is visualized in a gel electrophoresis experiment. DNA molecules dyed to respond to UV light glow and flow electromagnetically in an agar-gel chamber
2. Sound part
1) Sonification of DNA movementMax/Msp patch
Convert continuously changing number of RGB data (could be change to other data) of DNA movement animation to midi or frequency.
2) Sound Design
Work in Biolab
2024.11.16. Sat, 9:30 am
Gel Electrophoresis Exercise
I started by relearning how to use a micropipette to pick up where I left off a year ago. I tested two DNA ladders and a green stain that I had stored in the freezer to see if they were still functional.
Total 3 electrophoresis (see photos below)
5V - 40 min -> 5V - 40 min -> 6V - 60 min
The instructions say to electrophoresis at 5v for 40 min. Due to the short distance of DNA migration, I did 2 additional cycles.
Result
*DNA moves slow. Next time, reduce the percentage of agarose gel.