Clone the Clone

Mark Dion
Lab Bench, 2006

mark dion genesis
photo: D. Rijper

Mark Dion conducts large-scale projects in which he questions the role of specialists—from archaeologists to ethnologists, from historians to art curators. He questions the classification systems placed on objects by professionals and institutions and invites viewers of his work to be an active audience. Lab Bench is Mark Dion’s perfect imitation or ‘clone’ of the biotechnology laboratory Hubrecht in Utrecht. Could it be used to clone cells? Did he clone a cloning lab? That would be brilliant!
A fictive line separates the bench and literary copies everything form the other ‘original’ side, including personal family photo’s in the open drawer and a left over toast on the table with one bite missing. The work was part of the exhibition GenesisLife at the end of the information age in the Centraal Museum Utrecht (14/04 – 12/08/2007).