Reverb, A Genetic Opera ft. Ani Liu @ MoMA, New York – FESCH.TV

Reverb, A Genetic Opera ft. Ani Liu @ MoMA, New York & FESCH.TV:

A mother sings to her child, nestled in her womb. This is us. When we are first introduced into the world, we are often sung to. But oftentimes, we do not recall such an early memory. In the same way song does not reach us—as we forge our own paths, ancestry can feel lost on us. Accessing our ancestry nowadays means logging into a portal, analyzing a diagram that resembles a tree, branching to a sea of faces.

Reverb, A Genetic Opera is a performance in which mitochondrial DNA is transposed into song, as a regenerative bridge to our matrilineage.

While looking at the results from the genomics lab, I found that we are all connected. Scientists theorize that we all hold the genetic data of Mitochondrial Eve, our recent common matrilineal ancestor from Africa.

Through biology, we are all connected. But, modern kinmaking opens up the possibility for us to choose our family and forge new ancestries. Experience kinmaking in the way that feels right to us.

This is an interesting revelation, but how can this connection not only be known, but be felt? Through the same way we’ve always connected since days of old: through lore and song.

Yes, ancestry can feel fragmented or even cold when scanning a family tree. But we can reunite under the banner that is our shared song. If our sense of ancestry has waned over the years, let us galvanize a new form of kinmaking.

Last month, we invited Ani Liu, a celebrated research-based artist working at the intersection of art and science. Her most recent work examines the biopolitics of care work and motherhood. In the most DIY fashion, we got together in the lab to sequence her DNA at Genspace, a community lab in Brooklyn.

Though Ani was in the lab with us, we kept her genetic soundscape a surprise. A few weeks later, she heard her genetic opera for the first time, on the MoMA stage, before an audience. Ani revealed to me after the performance that she was very close to her grandmother as well.

Special thanks to Biodesign Challenge and Hybrid Studio.