Christiane Paul

Blind Genes

[…] Genetic code in the literal sense becomes the focus of Andreas Müller-Pohle’s Blind Genes (2002), for which he searched a genetic database on the Internet for the keyword ‘blindness’. The gene sequences returned by the search were used regardless of their quality or completeness – partial results or sequences that were merely postulated were accepted as valid returns, pointing to the state of research at the time and the metaphorical element of the artistic process. The DNA bases CGAT (Cytosine, Guanine, Adenine, Thymine) were then positioned in blocks of ten, translated into Braille and coloured – ­A: yellow, G: blue, C: red, T: green. The height of the single pieces is produced by the different lengths of the sequences. Through a process of data translation, the genetic, organic ‘code’ for blindness manifests itself as Braille, the code and sign system that establishes an ‘interface’ with the seeing world. […]

Christiane Paul: Digital Art. London: Thames & Hudson, 2003. ISBN 0-500-20367-9