Event 2 Kathy High Exhibit

Event 2 Kathy High Exhibit

Kathy High is well known as an artist working with biotehnology. Her work involving white blood cell interaction called Blood Wars at SymbioticA and her exhibits involving care for research mice  have been introduced in lecture. Her exhibit here involves a discussion on a subject matter that is not commonly talked about in art, human feces. The paintings displayed, called the Remediator Series,show a mutualistic relationship between people, the environment, and the large intestine. They represent how important human waste and the organs producing it are important to us, making us think about them more than we really do.

The Remediator Series artwork

From my science classes and from the video playing at her exhibit, human feces transplants have been a subject of much recent research in the biomedical sciences. The human colon contains many species of bacteria that exist in a mutualistic relationship with the human body. These are good bacteria and prevent pathogenic species of bacteria from invading the colon. When these mutualistic bacteria are killed either due to a malfunctioning immune system or by antibiotic use, there is new empty space on the colon surface for pathogenic bacteria C. difficile  to invade. This invasion can be cured by reintroducing the mutualistic bacteria by taking a fecal sample containing the  bacteria from a healthy person and having the patient ingest it. To be able to preserve the fecal matter before transplant, expensive storage procedures involving cryogenics have to be carried out on the feces. Kathy High tackles this expensive problem in her work where she preserves the feces in honey. She explains that the honey preserves the feces in a much more inexpensive way. This work is thus a commentary on making medicine more accessible  to everyone.

Artist Kathy High is crouched in the background, explaining her display of feces preserved in honey

Finally, Kathy High herself suffers from Crohn's disease, an autoimmune disease of the colon as mentioned in lecture and her exhibit. The third part of her work shows large self-portraits of her and a letter to David Bowie. The letter expresses her hope of it and her self-portraits reaching David Bowie and that he will give her a sample of his feces so that she can try the new experimental method of treating Crohn's disease with a fecal transplant.

These are the self portraits of Kathy High and her letter to David Bowie.

Overall, this was a thought provoking exhibit where I could relate art with the medical and biotechnology I learned just a quarter ago in microbiology class. It was great to see human waste, a controversial art subject as seen when other artists spark huge debate when they involve it, as art in real life. The exchange of artistic self portraits for fecal matter to be used for cure is also an interesting way of obtaining medicine that is often bought through cash or insurance. I recommend it to classmates.

Myself with the manager of the CNSI art gallery.