Flesh Machine

(http://www.nasikwh.com/images/ivf_cycle.JPG)

Critical Art Ensemble is a group that start debate and talking points through public art events that address issues of ethics within biological technologies. Flesh machine is a performance event that took place in 1997-1998 that raised the issue of IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) treatment. IVF is a treatment that allows infertile couples have children by artificially egg cells with sperm outside of the womb.

Flesh Machine invites visitors of the performance/event to go through a screening test of their potential donor profile, go on to give blood for DNA extraction and amplification and then view “the potential value of their bodies as commodities, and hence their place in the new genetic market economy.”(http://www.critical-art.net/biotech/biocom/index.html) This event is successful because not only does it address an issue that already caused much debate in the media at that time but it involves the visitor. It could have separated itself from reality and therefore taken the risk of not being taken seriously, like Stelarc (AKA Stelios Arcadious) and his third ear implanted in his arm. This artists attempt to comment on the artificial biological technology detatched itself from reality and left the public making comments such as, “This is one of the stupidist things I have seen!”.(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-487039/Artist-implants-ear-arm.html) With Flesh Machine visitors are not merely told the possible negative impacts of the technologies but they experience how the technology could exploit people and of its unethical possibilities.