Artist Statement

The Relative Velocity Inscription Device is a live scientific experiment in the form of an automated electronic installation in which Paul Vanouse literally races skin-colour genes from his Jamaican-American family against one another.
Vanouse’s work Operational Fictions/The Relative Velocity Inscription Device explores peculiar intersections of “big-science” and popular culture. It addresses complex issues raised by varied new technologies through these very technologies. These Operational Fictions are hybrid entities — simultaneously functional machines and fanciful representations — which are intended to resonate in the equally hyper-real context of the contemporary landscape. Contextualizing this work are previous projects involving human genomics such as Cult of the New Eve and his current project Latent Figure Protocol.

• Paul Vanouse (USA) has been working in emerging technological forms since 1990. Interdisciplinarity and impassioned amateurism guide his art practice. His electronic cinema, performances and interactive installations have been exhibited in 18 countries and widely across the US. Vanouse is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University at Buffalo, NY.

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