I am an
Art Historian,
Biohacker,
Bonsai Expert,
Media Enthusiast, and
Classically Trained Artist.

To understand something new, we need to have a grasp of the many facets that make it. That is why multidisciplinarity is important and sought after. I have a multidisciplinary background. For over a decade, my goal has been to understand culture in a world of rapid technological advancements.

Starting with my academic practice, I use philosophy and art history as a guideline to understand our present. Biotechnology and informatics are shaping our world, and in my view, art has a lot to contribute to the development of a better future. To imagine this future, I use Bonsai. Bonsai is at the same time an object of art, biotechnology, and nature. That is why I spent two years in Japan researching Bonsai and writing about its symbiosis with 21st-century biotechnology.

My work in museums and art institutions, make approachable the contents of all these disciplines. As a speaker, I am skilled at using media: photography, video, 3D visuals/animation, to effectively communicate with my audience. Right now I am developing my digital visualization skills to further improve in this area.

Rooted in Bonsai tradition and propelled by biotechnology

Re-creating living organisms to become more natural than nature itself

Bonsai is made to become more natural by enhancing the alluring qualities of trees in the wild

Japanese Masters studied the aesthetic elements of nature and incorporate them into Bonsai through the application of an archaic form of biotechnological techniques . Similarly, a volition* for designing nature through synthetic biology is central in David’s work. This intention is fundamental in the paradigm shift where biotechnology produces works of art which are not made but grown instead.

Synthetic biology drives the transformation of natural aesthetics

David’s interest is to continue towards the theoretical, conceptual and symbolic abstraction of nature as culture and explore how far Synthetic biology may drive transformations of our natural aesthetics in a faster and more radical way.

He strives to contribute to the development of parameters for the aesthetic appreciation of biological beings as art in a context that allows the opportunity to design Contemporary Speciation.

[*] In linguistics, volition is a concept that distinguishes whether the subject, or agent of a particular sentence intended an action or not. Simply, it is the intentional or unintentional nature of an action.

Bioengineered Bonsai Portraiture

David is embarking in the creation of bioengineered Bonsai portraiture of human subjects by introducing the person’s mitochondrial DNA into a Bonsai. The tree is chosen and shaped in its appearance to represent the subject’s character and personality; it will host a piece of the subject’s DNA in its genome for as long as it lives. It is hard to tell with certainty how long Bonsai lives. So far Bonsai rarely dies other than by accident or misfortunes such as war, unlike wild plants. Furthermore, the question of immortality of the subject through their DNA demands further discussion since the DNA piece holds the genealogical information of the individual, where he/she comes from and arguably, who he/she is.

Sympatric Speciation

The flowers of the Juniperus are removed and attached to the black acrylic surface to prevent the tree from producing seeds. Because of that, the Juniper is artificially removed from the wild gene pool. As an art piece, it is attractive enough that culture will keep it alive and therefore, creating an artificial species.