Cellout.me: What does it mean to own someone else’s DNA data?
Jeroen van Loon, Cellout.me, exhibition view at Aksioma Project Space. Photo: Jure Goršič / Aksioma
Jeroen van Loon, Cellout.me, exhibition view at Aksioma Project Space. Photo: Jure Goršič / Aksioma
At the end of 2015, artist Jeroen van Loon offered his entire DNA data – 380 GB of personal data – for auction. The starting price was an extravagant 0 euro. Anyone could place a bid through www.cellout.me. A year later, the auction closed and the artist’s full genome sold for 1100 euros to the Verbeke Foundation.
The highest bidder had just acquired an installation composed of the server cabinet where the data are stored, framed pictures documenting the DNA extracting and encoding processes, four letters written by experts as well something more difficult to fully grasp: an individual’s entire DNA self-portrait.