The central work in the “Natural History of the Enigma” series is a plantimal, a new life-form I have created and that I call “edunia”, a genetically engineered flower that is a hybrid of myself and a petunia. The edunia expresses my DNA exclusively in its red veins.
Developed between 2003 and 2008 and first exhibited from April 17 to June 21, 2009, at the Weisman Art Museum [1], in Minneapolis, “Natural History of the Enigma”also includes a large-scale public sculpture, a print suite, photographs and other works.
The new flower is a petunia strain that I invented and produced through molecular biology. It is not found in nature. The edunia has red veins on light pink petals and a gene of mine is expressed in every cell of its red veins, i.e., my gene produces a protein only in the veins [2]. The gene was isolated and sequenced from my blood. The pink background of the petals, against which the red veins are seen, is evocative of my own pinkish- white skin tone. The result of this molecular manipulation is a bloom that creates the living image of human blood rushing through the veins of a flower.
The gene I selected is responsible for the identification of foreign bodies. In this work, this is precisely what identifies and rejects the other that I integrate into the other, thus creating a new kind of self that is partially flower and partially human. “Natural History of the Enigma”is a reflection on the contiguity of life between different species. It uses the redness of blood and the redness of the plant’s veins as a marker of our shared heritage in the wider spectrum of life. By combining human and plant DNA in a new flower in a visually dramatic way (red expression of human DNA in the flower veins), I demonstrate the contiguity of life between different species.
This work seeks to instill a sense of wonder in the public about this most amazing phenomenon we call “life”. The general public may have no difficulty in considering how close we truly are to apes and other non-human animals, particularly those with which it is possible to communicate directly, such as cats and dogs. However, the thought that we are also close to other life forms, including flora, will strike most people as surprising.
Thus, the key gesture of “Natural History of the Enigma” takes place at the molecular level. It is at once a physical realization (i.e., a new life created by an artist, tout court) and a symbolic gesture (i.e., ideas and emotions are evoked by the very existence of the flower).
I had a sample of my blood taken and subsequently isolated a genetic sequence that is part of my immune system—the system that distinguishes self from non-self, i.e., protects against foreign molecules, disease, invaders—anything that is not me. To be more precise, I isolated a protein-coding sequence of my DNA from my immunoglobulin (IgG) light chain (variable region).[3]
To create a petunia with red veins in which my blood gene is expressed I made a chimeric gene composed of my own DNA and a promoter to guide the red expression only in the flower’s vascular system. In order to make my blood-derived DNA express only in the red veins of the petunia, I used Professor Neil Olszewski’s CoYMV (commelina yellow mottle virus) promoter, which drives gene expression only in plant veins. Professor Olszewski works in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. [4] My IgG DNA is integrated into the chromosome of the edunia. This means that whenever the edunia is propagated through seeds my gene is present in the new flowers.
In anticipation of a future in which edunias can be distributed socially and planted everywhere, I created a set of six lithographs called “Edunia Seed Pack Studies”. Visually resonant as they are with the flower and the work’s theme, these images are meant to be used in the actual seed packs to be produced in the future. In my exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum, I exhibited a limited edition of edunia seed packs containing actual edunia seeds.
Notes
[1] The exhibition comprised the actual edunias, the complete “Edunia Seed Pack” set of six lithographs and a limited edition of edunia seed packs with actual edunia seeds.
[2] The gene of mine that I used is an IgG fragment extracted from my chromosome number 2. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is a kind of protein that functions as an antibody. IgG is found in blood and other bodily fluids and is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign antigens. An antigen is a toxin or other foreign substance, such as viruses, bacteria and allergens, that provokes an immune response in the body. More precisely, my DNA fragment is from my immunoglobulin kappa light chain (IGK) [see diagram]. In “Natural History of the Enigma”, the fusion protein, produced exclusively in the red veins, is a fusion of my IgG fragment with GUS (an enzyme that allowed me to confirm the vascular expression of the gene).
[3] For her assistance in taking my blood, isolating my IgG and cloning it, I owe a debt of gratitude to Bonita L. Baskin, who at the time I carried out this work was CEO of Apptec Laboratory Services, St. Paul, MN. The blood was taken for “Natural History of the Enigma”on May 13, 2004, on the premises of Apptec Laboratory Services.
[4] With the assistance of Professor Neil Olszewski, I obtained positive confirmation that my IgG protein was produced only in the edunia veins by detecting the activity of the enzyme GUS (beta glucuronidase), which is fused to the IgG sequence. The detection was carried out through a staining technique.

Links: http://www.ekac.org/nat.hist.enig.html

Special Thanks: At the University of Minnesota, I would like to extend a very special thanks to Dean Robert Eide, College of Biological Sciences; Jane Blocker, Associate Professor of Art History; Jeffrey Kahn, Director, Center for Bioethics and Professor of Medicine; Jenny Schmid, Assistant Professor of Printmaking; Neil Anderson, Associate Professor of Flower Breeding and Genetics, Department of Horticultural Science; Douglas H. Ohlendorf, Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, College of Biological Sciences/Medical School; Rebecca Krinke, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Landscape Architecture. At the Weisman Art Museum, thanks to Lyndel King, Director and Chief Curator; Diane Mullin, Associate Curator; and Craig Amundsen, Public Art Curator and program manager. In my studio I would like to acknowledge Wonbin Yang. Also, a very special thanks to Shelly L. Willis, who, when I started to develop "Natural History of the Enigma", was the Public Art Coordinator at the Weisman Art Museum, and now is the Public Art Administrator for the city of Sacramento, CA.

Eduardo Kac (BR) is internationally recognized for his telepresence and bio art. Kac’s work is exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art of Valencia, Spain, the ZKM Museum, Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, among others, and has received many awards. http://www.ekac.org.