The Infinity Engine

What is an infinity engine? Lynn Hershman Leeson regards the advanced bioengineering laboratories of today as highly capable facilities which not only study life but also bring new life forms into being using genetic manipulation. The once purely literary SciFi dreams of biogenetically created artificial life forms have become a reality of life sciences, triggering new visions of unforeseeable future realities. The modular project »The Infinity Engine« captures this reality by replicating a biogenetics laboratory with representations of experiments, depictions of genetically modified plants and animals, information posters, petri dishes, biomaterials, and artificial organs. Scientists discuss their research and the technologies they use in video interviews.

The artist herself engages in laboratory practices by saving her research material on a DNA sample which is inset into a closed white-room door. In doing so, Lynn Hershman uses an efficient storage medium of the future which is currently under development.

The installation serves as a medium, transporting visitors into a world of fascinating thought. Microbiological mastery of nature and the associated notions of the future are as marvelous as they are laden with questions about their societal consequences and implications for humanity.