STRP presents Species Counterpoint by Antoine Bertin

Species Counterpoint

We humans traditionally picture ourselves at the top of a hierarchy of beings in which plants sit between animals rocks: incapable of movement, sensation or thought. Science brings new evidence everyday of our genetical, sensorial and intellectual kinship with other living beings. But we are yet to leave behind centuries of speciesism and consider the possibility of other forms of sensorialities and intelligence. How can we move away from anthropocentrism and celebrate our own bana(na)lity? The contrast between the minimalism of DNA structures and the diversity of living beings that has evolved from a same ancestor is breathtaking: Out of four simple notes (A,T,G,C) has emerged a diverse orchestra of living beings. organisms appear different from one another Yet on a molecular level, silent similarities and distant parenthood start to appear. DNA reveals a path to a common ancestor unique to all living beings on earth. plants, animals, humans are related to one another in way far more profound than we usually think.

DNA Sonification

Sonification is the art of translating data into sound. Sonification is all around us: the ticking of a clock is a sonification of time, a geiger counter translate radioactivity into clicks, gravitational chirps allows us to experience distant galactic events as sounds. With its four ever-changing letters, DNA is an infinite source of melody: an invitation to tune into the living world.

The Experience

Species Counterpoint brings together the DNA of a human and the DNA of a plant side by side on a piano keyboard. The two DNA sequences are translated into a score, with each nitrogenous base being attributed a specific note. This score will then be transposed onto a punched paper roll to be PLACED in a mechanical piano. As visitors enter the space where the piano sits, they will hear two melodies playing Alongside. On the left side of the keyboard the plant dna. On the right side the human dna. As the piano roll turns. visitors can hear the sequences playing alongside, visualise the dna unfolding on the paper, and materialising on the keyboard. When melodies sound identical (an octave apart) this means the gene are shared by plants and humans.