Future Forward: Projects in New Media - Inigo Manglano-Ovalle: Banks in Pink and Blue

Inigo Manglano-Ovalle’s “Banks in Pink and Blue” delved into the complex issues facing us as scientists explore methods of cloning and doctors learn more and more about our genetic make-up. With the perfection of DNA analysis and the potential opportunity to decode human genes, we may soon be able to translate our genetic data and that of our unborn children into real information, e.g., whether a child will be born healthy, or be born with an analytical mind. Inigo Manglano-Ovalleis particularly interested in the social, political and philosophical issues surrounding genetic manipulation, as well as the question of intellectual property: does one own his or her DNA sequences? For the Henry Art Gallery, Manglano-Ovalle presented an installation of two cryogenic banks: sperm banks, Post-Minimal sculptures, filled with sex-selected samples: one tank with ‘male’ (Y chromosome) sperm and the other with ‘female’ (X chromosome) sperm. Inciting a dialogue between scientists, ethicists, lawyers, anthropologists, and intellectual historians, as well as artists and laypersons, Manglano-Ovalle ventured into a fascinating world of uncharted legal, emotional and ethical territory.

“The Future Forward: Projects in New Media” series included two additional commissions and residencies: Jennifer Steinkamp in June 1999 and Tony Oursler in May 2000. This series of exhibitions was sponsored in part by a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts, allowing each artist to travel to Seattle to participate in a three-week collaborative residency which included the opportunity to work with University of Washington departments and private companies engaged in technologies relating to their work.