hands on 2009

Artists: Herwig Turk, Paulo Pereira

2 channel video installation

Dimension: flexibel

Duration: 5.54 min. loop

Hands on consists of two short films that show the sequence of procedures necessary to complete a “western blot” a common technique in cell biology that allows the detection and identification of proteins. In these films a team of scientists was requested to reproduce those procedures in the absence of the tools that are usually necessary to complete that task. Detached from their function the gestures begin to sketch a choreographic partition and the scientists became interpreters each with his /her own style. The differences on the styles (rhythm, precision, velocity, quality) challenge the cliché of the mechanical precision of science where the “human factor” is frequently neglected.