On 15 August a solo exhibition of works by Laura Splan, Unraveling, opens at BioBAT Art Space in Brooklyn, New York. The exhibition begins with a reception event from 1-4pm on 15 August (a viewing with artist present - timed entry reservation required) and runs until 12 September. Three days before the exhibition opens, Splan will launch a collection of digital editions on Sedition, also titled Unraveling. Works from the Sedition collection will feature in the exhibition at BioBAT.
The Unraveling exhibition at BioBAT marks the beginning of Splan’s nine month residency at the space. A starting point for the residency, the exhibition presents a series of animations by the artist which examine the structure of SARS-Cov-2 spike proteins. The artist uses the features of molecular visualization software in unconventional ways to unfold the protein structure before using video editing tools to further manipulate the structures.
Still from Unraveling #3 (Lime/Limon/Forest), part of the Unraveling collection by Laura Splan, available on Sedition from 12 August.
As well as being a reflection on a molecule that has profoundly disrupted daily life in 2020, the works on display at the Unraveling exhibition and in the connected launch on Sedition explore relationships between natural and constructed worlds. The works incorporate software typically used in creative and scientific fields, examining both the virus proteins and the constructs (whose formal influences are both human and algorithmic) used to comprehend and communicate them. The names of the videos include references to the colors used in each; these colors in turn come from the software’s color palette, whose naming system is influenced by plants, animals, and chemical elements. Unraveling attempts to explore the entanglements of ideal and reality, nature and culture, and different forms of intelligence connected to the SARS-Cov-2 virus - entanglements with deep historical and cultural roots and profound implications.
Unraveling was made in collaboration with biotech company Integral Molecular during Laura Splan’s uCity Science Center Bioart Residency with support from The Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation. Additional exhibition support was provided by Esther Klein Gallery.