JOSEPH ROSSANO: BOLD: MOOREA
The Ontario Genomics Institute has partnered with renowned Seattle-based artist, Joseph Rossano, and biologists Dr. Paul Hebert, Dr. Chris Meyer, Dr. Hannah Stewart and Seabird McKeon to engage the public around the science of DNA barcoding and how it is being used to catalog the world’s vast – and threatened – biodiversity.
Among the many applications of DNA barcoding is its use as an important tool in modern conservation biology. Indeed, conservation is at the very core of this work, which provides viewers with the opportunity to reflect on the impact of humankind on our environment.
The species featured in BOLD: Moorea have been catalogued using DNA barcoding technology as part of the Moorea Biocode Project, which aims to create the first comprehensive inventory of all non-microbial life in a complex tropical ecosystem. The Moorea Biocode Project is based at the University of California Berkeley’s Richard B. Gump South Pacific Research Station and France's Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l'Environment (CRIOBE) in Moorea.
Read the National Geographic Feature issue on Moorea BioCode, March, 2011.
About the sculptures: A note from the artist, Joe Rossano
As an artist, I strive to distil ideas, concepts, and reality into their bare essence. My resulting minimalist sculptures, I hope, convey an emotion, ask a question, or direct the viewer on a path of introspection and investigation, as they explore man's impact on the environment.
My series "BOLD" is named for the acronym for the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) database. The subject of each specimen box is neither real nor is it an accurate representation of the creature it is designed to represent. The subjects of these sculptures are a jewelled representation of reality that draw the viewer in for a closer inspection. As the viewer shortens the distance between himself and the sculpture, the specimen becomes increasingly difficult to discern. The viewer, now confronted with the frustration of being unable to make out exactly what is in the box, discovers the clear and legible text surrounding the specimen.
What is the text on the side of each piece? The text is the 100% accurate representation of the specimen that attracted you. The text is the FASTA file, a textual representation of the DNA barcode that identifies the unique species.
What is the story of this specimen? What is a DNA barcode? I'm not a scientist; my role in this interactive collaboration is to distil reality into a visual hook that leads you to the answers.
Welcome to BOLD.
Introduction:
One way to think of a head of Pocillopora coral is as a storybook castle. It is the center of a community, and a defensible fortress. Soaring towers and turrets reach high above the coral reef structure, while dungeons and catacombs may plunge many feet below. And as with any castle, corals exist under threat from outside forces: there are dragons in this world in the form of coral eating seastars, and crabs like heavily armoured knights to chase them off. Beautiful and mischievous damselfish flit about, while sombre coral crouchers and gobies plot and scheme to find the next meal or mate. The coral may stand for centuries, or fall into ruin.
This project was meant to provide insight into the fauna of a coral head - and to introduce some of the characters that are frequently overlooked, but play important roles in the survival of the coral. In a community such as this many of the relationships are symbiotic - intimate arrangements between players. Some of these relationships are obligate - where the participants have little choice but to remain associated, while others are facultative meaning that the relationship is optional. Some symbioses are mutualistic, where both partners benefit. Others are parasitic, where one of the partners is exploiting the other. And some are commensal, where one partner benefits, while the other is neither aided nor harmed.
These arrangements are intricate and political - they may change with a higher temperature, as day goes to night, or with the addition of another character. Our role in the story is still being played out. From our actions onshore and in the atmosphere we are changing the environmental conditions that affect the entire reef community. Our removal of large reef predators such as groupers, the addition of sediment to the reef, or the increase of CO2, have cascading effects. We simply do not know how these changes will affect the careful balance of power within the castle of Pocillopora.
The Collection
To learn more about the organisms and DNA barcodes in each piece, click on the links below:
Tetralia ocucaerulea - Zorro crab
Acanthaster planci - Crown-Of-Thorns Seastar (adult)
Trapezia rufopunctata
Trapezia flavopuncata
Pocillopora woodjonesi
Sebastapistes fowleri - Fowler's Scorpionfish
Neocirrhites armatus - Flame Hawkfish
Plectroglyphidon johnstonianus – Blue-eyed Damselfish
Paragobiodon modestus and Paragobiodon lacunicolus
Caracanthus unipinna - Pygmy Coral Croucher and Caracanthis maculates - Spotted Coral Croucher
To download a PDF of the show catalog, click here
