Baroque Bodies explores computational representations of the biological world through projected animations, spatialized sound, prints, and sculptures. The work evokes notions of residues in both the abstract (metaphorical, poetic, ethereal) and the physical (literal, material, biological). The conceptual underpinnings of the project are drawn from epigenetic research on environmental influences on gene expression. “Baroque Bodies (Ambient Portals #1)” is an animation created with molecular models of nucleosomes and AI-generated reflections. The mirror surfaces of histones and DNA reflect idyllic landscapes that are otherwise invisible in the animations. “Baroque Bodies (Configurations #1)” is an animation created with computationally driven movement from simulations of chromatin configurations. Biophysical calculations generate the movement of spheres representing nucleosomes. The colorful metallic surfaces of the spheres and the reflected images in the mirror proteins were created with AI image generators using text prompts from scientific research on epigenetics. “Baroque Bodies (Patchwork)” is a series of spatialized sonifications of computer-generated contact map visualizations depicted in a related series of weavings, Tangible Variations. The soundscapes accompany the animations and were composed by converting sound files into midi tracks. A different midi instrument was assigned to each of the 20 tracks creating an ethereal sonification of contact among molecular bodies that are situated in a liminal space that is at once biological and technological.
