Genpets (15 pics)

“This piece is a mix of design, industry, art and science. The sculpture consists of nineteen plastic packages hung from store hooks displaying streamlined, mass produced Bio-engineered life. The setup is complimented by small video displays, posters, and a product catalogue, which display information and video clips about the products.

Each package consists of custom vacuum formed plastic surrounding a foam latex animatron; Strange animals, grown and altered, by bioengineering, but clearly mammalian. They are twitching, shaking, clawing, and head butting their packaging but twist ties keep them held in place. Feeding tubes supply the creatures with nourishment, as well as electricity for the glowing “fresh strips” and heart monitors. But these are not plastic toys, these are mass produced, copyrighted life; modified for consumption.

These animals have been deemed worthless and marketed as midrange children’s toys. Like curiosities, they are on display but not in glass jars, rather plastic. They are tethered, but for practicality, not for security, and these cables demonstrate their relationship of utter dependency and submission right away upon birth. They are asleep in their packages complacently waiting to join their new homes as one more possession as the latest and greatest form of consumable technology.”