Welcome to join us for a dialogue that brings together artist, designer and researcher Emilia Tikka and Mianna Meskus, sociologist of science and technology.

During the evening, Emilia Tikka will be talking about her recent stay at Tokyo Art & Science Research Residency in Japan and discussing her work with Mianna Meskus. Tikka will highlight her research concept of 'Circular genealogies', a mixture of spiritual and biomedical approaches on the life cycle, drawing from the immortal jellyfish, rituals of kajimaya, the Buddhist concept of reincarnation and Biomedical applications of cellular reprogramming. The research on the non-western concepts of the beginning and the end of life included lab visits such as CiRA – the Yamanaka Laboratories in Kyoto, temple visits and research on Okinawan rituals and cultural techniques on the thematic. Out of this research Tikka produces artworks questioning the traditional concepts of evolutionary genealogy aiming to investigate alternative forms of heredity, reproduction and genetic legacy in the era of advancing biotechnologies.

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Emilia Tikka is an artist, designer and researcher currently based in Berlin and Helsinki. Her work explores philosophical dimensions and cultural implications of novel biotechnologies such as genome editing technology CRISPR and Cellular reprogramming. Her post-disciplinary practice combines storytelling methods, feminist technoscience and discursive design. She is a PhD Candidate at Aalto University, The School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki and a research associate at Tampere University in Finland. She is a former artist in residence at Max-Delbrück-Centre for Molecular Medicine and State Festival, the first European artistic residency on CRISPR. Recently she has been selected for the Tokyo Art and Science Residency 2019 organized by The Bioart Society and hosted by BioClub Tokyo in partnership with the Finnish Institute in Japan.  

Tikka's works – ranging from objects, scenarios and films – has been awarded and exhibited in several international design exhibitions and art museums including Ars Electronica in Austria, Gregg Museum for Art and Design in USA, STATE Studio in Germany, New York University Arts Centre in United Arabic Emirates, Västerås Art Museum in Sweden, EMMA Contemporary Art Museum in Finland. Her work has been featured in publications such as Nature, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Die Welt and PLASMA magazine. 
emiliatikka.com

Mianna Meskus is a sociologist of science and technology, working at the intersections of biomedicine, gender, and power. Her research centers on biomedical shaping of reproduction and ageing in Finland and the EU, historical reconfigurations of gendered biopolitics, and theoretical questions about knowledge production, value and materiality. Currently, Meskus works as Associate Professor in Sociology at Tampere University, where she leads two interdisciplinary research projects that look into the relationships between reproductive justice, successful ageing, ecological sustainability and speculative futures.
miannameskus.net

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The language of the discussion is English.

All Bioart Society events have free entry. Welcome!

Photo: Emilia Tikka, Turtle back graves at Shikina Cemetary in Naha, Okinawa.