Marcello Mercado

  • Marcello Mercado, The information about humans, Performance, 2004

    Marcello Mercado, The information about humans, Performance, 2004

     

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    The information about humans

    Performance – Denmatk

    2004

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Human Genome re-Activation – Low Lives 3 International Festival of Live Networked Performances, 2011

    Human Genome re-Activation – Low Lives 3 International Festival of Live Networked Performances, 2011

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado
    Human Genome re-Activation
    Performance Streaming: Low Lives 3 International Festival of Live Networked Performances
    5´27″
    mono 4:3     colour

    2011

     

    30.04.2011
    Buenos Aires 16:11h, Los Angeles 12:11h,
    Berlin 21:11h, Cape Town 21:11h,
    Salt Lake City 13:11h, Miami 15:11h

     

    keywords:
    bioart, genome, finger, soundart, genetics, synthetic voice,
    DNA – Sequence alignment, chromosome 1, DNA, Nucleotides,
    adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T), DNA-Bases

     

     

     

    In 2011, as part of the real-time performance festival Low Lives 3, Marcello Mercado presented Human Genome Re-Activation, a live-streamed procedural work exploring the convergence of human biology, sonic information, and technological mediation.

    The point of departure was an early corporeal trauma: the loss of the artist’s right-hand little finger at the age of eight. Embracing a strictly processual methodology, the performance sought to stimulate latent regenerative knowledge encoded within the human genome. DNA fragments were translated into sound frequencies, while an artificial voice recited selected genomic sequences aloud, producing an acoustic field aimed at activating dormant biological memory.

    Drawing upon Siegfried Zielinski’s variantology—a theory of alternative technological genealogies—Human Genome Re-Activation treated the genome as a primordial archive, a deep technological substrate available for contemporary experimental reading. Rather than constructing symbolic meaning or narrative resolution, the work operated as a live laboratory, where media archaeology and speculative biotechnology intersected in real time.

    The artificial voice’s recitation transformed the informational material of the genome into vibrational events, expanding the body’s perceptual field beyond the purely tactile. In doing so, the performance displaced traditional notions of embodiment, situating the body within a continuum of sonic, biological, and computational agencies.

    Far from proposing an image of figurative regeneration, Human Genome Re-Activation created a material and procedural condition: a space for investigating the body’s possible responsiveness to acoustic fields of information. The live-streaming medium—integral to the work’s realization—amplified this experiment by dissolving spatial boundaries, dispersing the vibratory intervention across decentralized receivers while maintaining an intense immediacy between transmission and corporeal reception.

    Without projecting utopian promises or restorative fantasies, Human Genome Re-Activation constructed a model of speculative regeneration: an experimental archaeology of biological loss, mediated through the hybrid entanglement of obsolete and contemporary communication systems.

     

    .

     

    https://vimeo.com/29938829

     

     

     

     

    1.

    Siegfried Zielinski — Deep Time of the Media

    «Technology is not a linear progression but a constellation of missed possibilities, alternative paths, and latent potentials waiting to be reactivated.»
    (Deep Time of the Media, 2006)

    2.

    Jens Hauser — Art, Biology and Politics (essay)

    «Bioart does not symbolize life processes: it intervenes in them, manipulates, and actualizes their potential as living, dynamic systems.»
    (in Art and Biotechnologies, 2007)

    3.

    Bruno Latour — An Inquiry into Modes of Existence

    «Modernity has always misunderstood its hybrids: it has tried to cleanse what was inevitably composite.»
    (An Inquiry into Modes of Existence, 2012)

    4.

    Amelia Jones — Body Art: Performing the Subject

    «Performance art refuses the closure of representation. It opens the body as an unstable, permeable site for the enactment of process and becoming.»
    (Body Art, 1998)

     

    5.

    Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev — The Brain and the Algorithm

    «When machines speak for us, they do not replace human presence; they alter the modalities of embodiment and distribution of knowledge.»
    (Documenta 13 Catalogue, 2012)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado and Sebastian Sánchez Zelada, A Vanishing Quantity in the mathematical sense, Performance, 1999

    Marcello Mercado and Sebastian Sánchez Zelada, A Vanishing Quantity in the mathematical sense, Performance, 1999

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado and Sebastian Sánchez Zelada

    A Vanishing Quantity in the mathematical sense

    12´colour stereo

    Performance, Köln

    1999

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • How to explain to a dead mole the difference between…? Performance, 2001

    How to explain to a dead mole the difference between…? Performance, 2001

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    How to explain to a dead mole the difference between a 2000 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class SLK 320 2dr convertible and a 2001 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class SLK320 2dr Roadster?

    Performance

    Köln, 2001

    .

     

    In 2001 I acquired a taxidermied mole at a fair. This seemingly trivial object became the catalyst for a performance that directly addresses themes of communication, misinterpretation, and the limits of knowledge. Drawing on the legacy of Joseph Beuys‘ 1965 performance How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, my work explores the intersection of art, nature, and the human impulse to rationalize the irrational.

    Beuys‘ iconic act of explaining art to a dead hare, while a highly symbolic gesture, was not intended to explain in the traditional sense. Rather, it was an act of contemplation in which communication transcended the spoken word and embraced the spiritual, the tactile, and the deeply personal. Beuys‘ performance was rooted in the understanding that art is not a product to be consumed, but a process of inquiry, a question that is never fully answered. In this respect, my piece takes its cue from Beuys, although I shift the focus to the absurdity of a seemingly futile task.

    The mole, much like Beuys‘ hare, becomes a conduit for a deeper engagement with the nature of explanation, knowledge, and power. In my performance, I stand in front of the dead mole and try to «explain» the difference between two models of luxury cars in a detached and almost scientific tone. The absurdity of explaining a highly materialistic concept – an automotive distinction – to an animal that is both dead and incapable of understanding mirrors the futile attempt to communicate the incommunicable.

    This act, in its apparent triviality, questions the very premise of communication. It reflects a fundamental tension in contemporary art and culture: the constant drive to explain, articulate, and define, while constantly confronting the unexplainable, the untranslatable. What does it mean to explain something to an audience or an object that will never truly understand?

    From the perspective of Siegfried Zielinski’s variantology, this performance can be seen as an exploration of the epistemological limits of technology and art. Zielinski’s exploration of non-linear histories and alternative technological narratives provides a theoretical framework for understanding the absurdity of the performance: the act of explaining is not simply about the transmission of information, but about the very possibility of its existence. In a sense, the mole stands as a mute witness to the gaps in communication, a metaphor for the incomplete and fractured narratives that define both art and life.

    As curators such as Hans Ulrich Obrist and Okwui Enwezor have pointed out, contemporary art is often less about providing definitive answers and more about creating spaces for reflection and critical engagement. My work, like Beuys‘ performances, does not resolve the tension between knowing and not knowing, but rather invites the viewer into a space of perpetual questioning. It asks: What is the nature of explanation? To whom do we explain, and why?

    In this sense, the performance goes beyond the specific objects involved (the mole and the cars) and opens up a broader dialogue about the relationships between people, objects, and knowledge. It challenges viewers to reconsider their assumptions about communication, art, and the nature of understanding itself.

    Maria Lind’s exploration of contemporary art as a process of constant negotiation aligns with this work, as the performance itself is not an attempt to provide an answer, but to push the boundaries of what can be communicated. Similarly, Bruno Latour’s ideas on actor-network theory suggest that knowledge is always a product of relationships – relationships between people, things and technologies. In this performance, the mole becomes a node in a network of meanings, and the explanation is not for the mole, but for the human observer who must grapple with the absurdity of trying to make sense of it all.

    Ultimately, How to Explain to a Dead Mole… is an exploration of the paradoxes inherent in the act of communication: the simultaneous desire to explain and the inherent impossibility of truly explaining. By using a seemingly nonsensical act as a vehicle for inquiry, the performance becomes an open–ended investigation into the limits of knowledge, language, and the human drive to categorize and control.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    (Gerrman)

    Wie erklärt man einem toten Maulwurf den Unterschied zwischen einem Mercedes-Benz SLK-Klasse SLK 320 2-Türer Cabriolet (Baujahr 2000) und einem Mercedes-Benz SLK-Klasse SLK 320 2-Türer Roadster (Baujahr 2001)?

    Performance, Köln,  2001

     

    2001 kaufte ich auf einem Jahrmarkt einen ausgestopften Maulwurf. Dieses scheinbar triviale Objekt wurde zum Auslöser einer Performance, die sich unmittelbar mit den Themen Kommunikation, Fehlinterpretation und den Grenzen des Wissens auseinandersetzt. Ausgehend von Joseph Beuys’ Performance „Wie erklärt man einem toten Hasen die Bilder“ aus dem Jahr 1965 untersucht meine Arbeit die Schnittstelle zwischen Kunst, Natur und dem menschlichen Drang, das Irrationale zu rationalisieren.

     

    Beuys’ ikonischer Akt, einem toten Hasen die Kunst zu erklären, war zwar eine hochsymbolische Geste, zielte aber nicht auf Erklärung im traditionellen Sinne. Es war vielmehr ein Akt der Kontemplation, in dem die Kommunikation über das gesprochene Wort hinausging und das Geistige, das Taktile und das zutiefst Persönliche umfasste. Beuys’ Performance wurzelte in dem Verständnis, dass Kunst kein konsumierbares Produkt ist, sondern ein Prozess des Suchens, eine Frage, die nie vollständig beantwortet werden kann. In diesem Punkt lehne ich mich an Beuys an, indem ich den Fokus auf die Absurdität einer scheinbar sinnlosen Aufgabe verlagere.

     

    Der Maulwurf wird, ähnlich wie Beuys’ Hase, zum Kanal für eine tiefere Auseinandersetzung mit dem Wesen von Erklärung, Wissen und Macht. In meiner Performance stehe ich vor dem toten Maulwurf und versuche in einem distanzierten, fast wissenschaftlichen Ton den Unterschied zwischen zwei Modellen eines Luxusautos zu „erklären“. Die Absurdität, ein höchst materialistisches Konzept – einen automobilen Unterschied – einem toten und unfähigen Tier erklären zu wollen, spiegelt den vergeblichen Versuch wider, das Unvermittelbare zu kommunizieren.

     

    Dieser Akt stellt in seiner scheinbaren Trivialität die Prämisse der Kommunikation selbst in Frage. Er spiegelt eine grundlegende Spannung in der zeitgenössischen Kunst und Kultur wider: den ständigen Drang zu erklären, zu artikulieren und zu definieren, während man gleichzeitig ständig mit dem Unerklärlichen, dem Unübersetzbaren konfrontiert ist. Was bedeutet es, einem Publikum oder einem Objekt etwas zu erklären, das es nie wirklich verstehen wird?

     

    Aus der Perspektive von Siegfried Zielinskis Variantologie kann diese Performance als eine Untersuchung der epistemologischen Grenzen von Technologie und Kunst verstanden werden. Zielinskis Auseinandersetzung mit nichtlinearen Erzählungen und alternativen technologischen Narrativen bietet einen theoretischen Rahmen, um die Absurdität der Performance zu verstehen: Beim Erklären geht es nicht nur um die Vermittlung von Information, sondern um die Möglichkeit ihrer Existenz. In gewisser Weise ist der Maulwurf ein stummer Zeuge der Kommunikationslücken, eine Metapher für die unvollständigen und gebrochenen Erzählungen, die sowohl die Kunst als auch das Leben prägen.

     

    Wie Kuratoren wie Hans Ulrich Obrist und Okwui Enwezor betont haben, geht es in der zeitgenössischen Kunst oft weniger darum, endgültige Antworten zu liefern, als Räume für Reflexion und kritische Auseinandersetzung zu schaffen. Wie Beuys’ Performances löst auch meine Arbeit die Spannung zwischen Wissen und Nichtwissen nicht auf, sondern lädt den Betrachter in einen Raum fortwährender Fragen ein. Sie fragt: Was ist das Wesen des Erklärens? Wem erklären wir etwas und warum?

     

    In diesem Sinne geht die Performance über die konkreten Objekte (den Maulwurf und die Autos) hinaus und eröffnet einen breiteren Dialog über die Beziehungen zwischen Menschen, Objekten und Wissen. Sie fordert den Betrachter heraus, seine Annahmen über Kommunikation, Kunst und das Wesen des Verstehens zu überdenken.

     

    Maria Linds Auseinandersetzung mit zeitgenössischer Kunst als einem Prozess ständiger Verhandlung steht im Einklang mit dieser Arbeit, da die Performance selbst nicht versucht, eine Antwort zu geben, sondern die Grenzen des Kommunizierbaren zu erweitern. Ebenso legen Bruno Latours Ideen zur Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie nahe, dass Wissen immer ein Produkt von Beziehungen ist – Beziehungen zwischen Menschen, Dingen und Technologien. In dieser Performance wird der Maulwurf zum Knotenpunkt eines Bedeutungsnetzwerks, und die Erklärung richtet sich nicht an den Maulwurf, sondern an den menschlichen Betrachter, der sich mit der Absurdität des Versuchs auseinandersetzen muss, all dem einen Sinn zu geben.

     

    Letztlich ist „How to Explain to a Dead Mole…“ eine Untersuchung der Paradoxien, die dem Akt der Kommunikation innewohnen: der gleichzeitige Wunsch zu erklären und die inhärente Unmöglichkeit, wirklich zu erklären. Indem ein scheinbar sinnloser Akt als Vehikel für die Untersuchung verwendet wird, wird die Performance zu einer offenen Untersuchung der Grenzen des Wissens, der Sprache und des menschlichen Drangs nach Kategorisierung und Kontrolle.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Azimuth 77, Performance, 2006

    Azimuth 77, Performance, 2006

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado and Sebastián Sánchez Zelada

    Azimuth 77

    21min. 26″, 4:3; stereo, color

    Performance

    2006

    Satellite art, bioart, performance, soundart, sculpture, drawings, photography

    The performance project involved the extraction, transfer, and preservation of genetic material (DNA) from Arion rufus (commonly known as the red slug), along with samples of ferrous soil, under conditions of strict synchronization with the passage of satellites from the Iridium constellation. The project was designed as a series of material procedures governed by verifiable spatiotemporal parameters.

    The Iridium constellation, originally deployed between 1997 and 2002, consists of 66 active low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites distributed across six orbital planes. Each satellite orbits at an approximate altitude of 780 kilometers, completing a full orbit every 100 minutes.

    This structure allows for full global coverage with low-latency communication capabilities. The predictability of satellite transit across any given terrestrial coordinate — with orbital data available through updated Two-Line Element (TLE) datasets — made it possible to calculate precise windows of satellite overpasses within a margin of seconds.

    Technical Framework


    The artists employed real-time orbital tracking software and TLE datasets to calculate satellite passages. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) atomic clock systems, synchronized via GPS, were utilized to align terrestrial actions with orbital events. Software systems such as Heavens-Above and CelesTrak informed the exact timing and geographic positioning necessary for each phase of the performance. The satellites passage itself constituted a temporal anchor for terrestrial actions.

    Material Considerations

    Ferrous soil was selected as one of the two primary materials due to its naturally occurring iron (Fe) content, which varies depending on geological composition but can reach concentrations of 3–7% in many terrestrial environments. Although no chemical analysis was performed during the performance cycle, the assumption of a significant iron content framed the soil not merely as passive matter but as a material with intrinsic magnetic and electronic properties.

    The speculative alignment of iron’s magnetic susceptibility with the electromagnetic presence of passing satellites introduced a technically plausible, yet deliberately unmeasured, layer of interaction between earthbound materials and orbital infrastructures.

    Similarly, the choice of Arion rufus DNA introduced a biological material characterized by its resilience, moisture dependency, and environmental adaptability, The slug’s genetic material was treated purely as a carrier of biological data within the transfer system.

    .

    The performative sequence of Azimuth 77 was structured in seven distinct phases, each articulated through specific material and technological interactions:

    .

    1. Biological Imprint Recording

    The performance commenced with the capture of biological traces. Live Arion rufus specimens were placed on a flatbed scanner, allowing their mucus trails and bodily movements to be directly registered as photographic imprints. This phase formalized an empirical, non-illustrative documentation of biological material displacement.

    2. Sculptural Systems Development

     

    Following the initial recordings, the artists constructed sculptural devices functioning simultaneously as antennas and archival machines. These physical structures operated as speculative technological extensions, mediating between the reception of atmospheric signals and the material archiving of biological information.

    3. Fluid Dynamics Animation and Sonic Environment Creation

    An animation was developed to simulate internal fluid circulations within the slug’s physiology, emphasizing the viscoelastic properties of its biological systems. Concurrently, a sonic environment was assembled, incorporating emissions from mobile phones and Iridium satellites. The acoustic sequence began with signals linked to Iridium 52, establishing a layered, real-time interaction between terrestrial and orbital communications.

    4. DNA and Ferrous Water Transfer Operations

    Transitioning from studio-based activities to field interventions, the artists transported DNA extracted from Arion rufus through a rugged terrain adjacent to a lake. Utilizing rubber tubing, funnels, and balloons as temporary containment units for slug DNA and ferrous-enriched water, they enacted a mobile biological transfer. A custom-fabricated copper staff—a tool constructed with conductive material—was used to rupture the balloons at designated points.

    The choice of ferrous water (rich in iron oxides) established an implicit dialogue with the magnetic properties of the Earth and with the operational principles of satellite geolocation systems, speculatively connecting the micro (biological fluids) with the macro (planetary metallic cores and magnetic fields).

    5. Satellite-Synchronized Rupture Event

    At precise orbital timings, the artists coordinated the rupture of the DNA-laden balloons to coincide with the overhead passage of Iridium satellites. This synchronization anchored the performance not only in terrestrial geography but also in the temporality of global satellite infrastructures, linking biological fragility with technological constellations under conditions of environmental flux, temperature shifts, and broader climate change indicators.

    6. Terminal Release at the Lacustrine Site

    Arriving at the lakeside endpoint, the artists performed the final rupture of all remaining ferrous-water and DNA-filled balloons, employing the copper staff as the release mechanism. This action finalized the material transfer process, distributing organic and ferrous elements into the landscape.

    7. Winter Revisitation and Temporal Closure

    Several months later, during the winter season, the artists returned to the original site, now covered in ice and snow. The revisitation was scheduled to coincide with the passage of the last active Iridium satellite in that orbital sector. This temporal closure reaffirmed the procedural nature of Azimuth 77, emphasizing cyclical environmental transformations and the persistence of satellite surveillance infrastructures.

    Artistic Contextualization

    This performance series situates itself between process art, systems-based practices, and contemporary engagements with infrastructural materialities. The performance privileges execution, proposing a field of operations grounded in verifiable technical realities and material interactions.

    This approach affirms the autonomy of procedural temporality and material specificity as valid domains of artistic action in contemporary practice.

    .

     

    Supplementary Materials

     

    A. Technical Data on Iridium Satellites

    1. Constellation Overview: 66 active communication satellites + 9 in-orbit spares.
    2. Orbit Type: Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
    3. Orbital Altitude: ~780 km above Earth’s surface.
    4. Orbital Period: Approximately 100 minutes per orbit.
    5. Inclination: 86.4 degrees (near-polar orbit, enabling global coverage).
    6. Pass Visibility: Bright satellite flares («Iridium flares») were visible due to their reflective antenna arrays, with magnitude up to -8, but these were a visual side effect, not a structural focus of the performance.
    7. Electromagnetic Emissions: Communication frequencies operated primarily between 29.1–29.3 GHz (uplink) and 19.4–19.6 GHz (downlink), within Ka-band spectrum.
    8. Initial Launch Period: 1997–2002.
    9. Key Satellite for Start of Performance: Iridium 52..

    .

     

    B. Biological Properties of Arion rufus (Red Slug)

    1. Taxonomic Classification:
    2. Phylum: Mollusca
    3. Class: Gastropoda
    4. Family: Arionidae
    5. Physical Characteristics:
    6. Size: Up to 15 cm in length.
    7. Body Composition: High moisture content; protective mucus secretions.
    8. Genetic Material:
    9. DNA-rich epithelial and mucosal secretions.
    10. Epithelial tissues and secreted mucus contain abundant nucleic acids recoverable via low-impact collection.
    11. Environmental Adaptations:
    12. Requires humid environments; highly sensitive to temperature and soil composition.
    13. Associated behaviorally with wet summers, especially in Western and Central Europe.
    14. Speculative Role in the Project:
    15. Moisture and ionic content of mucus may hypothetically interact with surrounding electromagnetic fields, although this remains speculative and was not instrumentally verified.

     

     

    C. Ferrous Soil Characteristics (Western Germany)

    1. Soil Type: Predominantly Luvisols and Cambisols in the region around Brühl, NRW.
    2. Iron Content:
    3. Natural iron oxides present, primarily goethite (α-FeO(OH)) and hematite (Fe₂O₃).
    4. Iron concentrations typically range between 2–6% depending on locality.
    5. Magnetic Properties:
    6. Ferrous minerals contribute to weak magnetic susceptibility.
    7. No specific measurements of soil magnetism were taken during the performance.
    8. Relevance to Performance:
    9. The ferrous soil samples were selected for their physical characteristics (coloration and density), assumed to have conductive or magnetic relevance at a microphysical level.
    10. Introduced an earthbound material with inherent, albeit unmeasured, magnetic potential.

    .

     

    4. Geophysical Conditions (Brühl, Germany, 2006)

    1. Seasonal Context:
    2. Summer 2006, characterized by higher-than-average precipitation.
    3. Environmental conditions favored an abundance of Arion rufus populations.
    4. Magnetic Field:
    5. The local geomagnetic field intensity for Western Germany averaged around 48,000 nT (nanoteslas) in 2006, as per International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) models.
    6. Satellite Visibility:
    7. Minimal light pollution at the outskirts of Brühl facilitated easier visual tracking and time coordination.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, Biorrealismus, Performance, 2005

    Marcello Mercado, Biorrealismus, Performance, 2005

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    Biorrealismus

    Performance

    2005

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, Biographie, Performance, 2005

    Marcello Mercado, Biographie, Performance, 2005

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    Biographie

    3´20″ color sound

    Performance

    2005

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, Acupuncture, Performance, 2010

    Marcello Mercado, Acupuncture, Performance, 2010

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    Acupuncture

    Performance

    2010

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, Paisajes con vacas, Performance, 2012

    Marcello Mercado, Paisajes con vacas, Performance, 2012

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    Paisajes con vacas

    7´52″ colour stereo

    Performance

    2012

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Curves, compost, forecasts and closures, Performance, 2020

    Curves, compost, forecasts and closures, Performance, 2020

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado
    Curves, compost, forecasts and closures
    10´51” color stereo
    Performance
    2020

     

    This performance series unfolds as a living archive of the Covid-19 pandemic, gathering and reactivating visual traces through biological processes, soft systems, permaculture strategies, and new media practices.

    The project does not aim to document the pandemic through conventional narratives; instead, it generates an open, evolving ecology where human, technological, and environmental agencies interact. Guided by the adaptive logics of permaculture—favoring resilience, interdependence, and non-linear growth—the archive develops organically, resisting closure or historical fixity.

    Rather than serving as a passive container of memory, the series constructs a dynamic field of transformation, where images and biological materials enter into slow cycles of mutation, decomposition, and renewal. In this context, the archive becomes a performative organism, unfolding in time and sensitive to the vulnerabilities of its own processes.

    This approach resonates with alternative genealogies of media and art, where histories are understood as discontinuous and layered, rather than linear. Technologies here are not neutral tools but active participants in the fragile negotiations between life, matter, and information.

    The images and processes engaged are not symbolic, nor are they stabilized into a narrative. They emerge as material vectors of a broader ecological and epistemological inquiry, where memory is neither fixed nor redemptive but radically contingent.

    Night Archives proposes a model of speculative survival—a precarious choreography between technological residues, biological matter, and the unstable processes of collective remembering and forgetting.

    .

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, Making consistent volatile ideas by broadcasting bio-information through plants, DNA, worms and Radio Frequencies, 2008

    Marcello Mercado, Making consistent volatile ideas by broadcasting bio-information through plants, DNA, worms and Radio Frequencies, 2008

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado
    Making consistent volatile ideas by broadcasting bio-information through
    plants, DNA, worms and Radio Frequencies
    18´color stereo
    2008

     

     

     

     

     

    In 2007 I made a double intervention at the Documenta in Kassel: 1) I took red poppies from Sanja Ivekovic’s work «Poppy Field»

    and extracted the DNA from them. from them. A month later I dissolved the frozen DNA in water containing living water worms (Biomphalaria glabrata).
    I made «genomic readings» with a Braille soft with a synthetic voice and the free soft that converts text to sound:

    «Genomic Text » example:
    1 ccaaggttca atgcctgctt tgacacgatt cagcgtgtaa caaagtggag gaaggtcgca
    61 agggacgact tcctcgaaga ggcggcgcgg gttgaccccc agtataacaa tgtgcaggtt
    121 cctggggagg tcatgaggag catgaatgct caaagtgtgg cgatggagct acgtgcccgc
    where:
    a=Adenine
    c=Cytosine
    t=Thymine
    g=Guanine
    are the five main nucleotide bases found in the nucleic acids DNA and RNA.

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleobase
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

    I have transmitted through baby calls their own genoma
    (Biomphalaria glabrata) to the water worms.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Marcello Mercado, To paint with DNA, Performance, 2016

    Marcello Mercado, To paint with DNA, Performance, 2016

     

     

     

     

    Marcello Mercado

    To paint with DNA

    Performance (Fragment)

    2016