Blood of Ancestors
Artwork details
Polina Zhadko · 2023
Kinetic installation
About the work
A 3D-printed heart containing a solution of the artist's diluted blood. The liquid is set in motion by a small motor, symbolizing the brain as the driver of life.
This artwork is part of an ongoing interdisciplinary research project by Polina Zhadko.
Methodology: 1. A genetic test will be conducted to determine the artist's ethnic origins. The results will be used to create a map highlighting the regions where her ancestors lived. 2. Before and after receiving the genetic test results, the artist's brain activity will be recorded via sensors while she listens to the phrase "I love you" spoken in 90 different languages.
Research Question: How does identifying with a particular ethnic group influence one's emotional and neurological response? Does the "blood of ancestors" resonate before one knows where they come from, or is the feeling constructed by knowledge?