Tissues, Cultures, Art

Tissues, Cultures, Art narrates the twenty-five years of collaborative andsometimes provocative artistic practice and scholarly thought of Catts & Zurr,who pioneered the use of regenerative biology techniques to create Semi-Livingart using living cells, tissues, and technological surrogate bodies. Through hands-onwork in biological laboratories, the authors researched concepts such aspartial-life and DNA-Chauvinism and explored the fantasies of living in atechnologically mediated victimless utopia. The authors delve into life's resistanceto reductionism, systemisation and control, asking whether there is somethingunique to life without the need to resort to metaphysics. Their practices reachbeyond the confines of art and are often cited as precursors to the cellularagriculture and biofabrication industries. Through a hybrid of personal reflections, poetics, and anecdotes with a morerigorous, scholarly approach - all illustrated with artworks - the authors presenta critical view on the use of life as a raw material for human manipulation.