ENMESHMENT
(The Enmeshment of Life and Love)
Amy Karle
2019
Technology is advancing faster than we can conceive of its impacts on humanity and the natural world. We have the tools and technology to save lives – but on the other hand, we don’t understand the implications of redesigning natural function, or who we will become because of it.
Heart disease (including heart attack from blockages in arteries) is a leading cause of death. Physically, “Enmeshment” explores how the form and function of vasculature of the heart can be improved through collaboration with cardiac surgeons, generative engineering and generative design, proposing a system that could potentially improve function and have less dire consequences in the case of blockages. The artist is working towards bioprinting this design with live human cells which, if successful, could have profound medical and scientific implications.
This work considers the symbolism of the heart as the organ associated with deep emotional feeling and love and loss, joys and sorrows, virtue and compassion. If we alter this organ, who do we become not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually because of it?
This work questions how humanity would be altered physically and emotionally if such design modifications were to be made and such technologies are used to heal and enhance the body. When working with exponential technologies that can permanently alter our bodies, beings, and course of our future, we must consider there is an intelligence and interconnectedness of life greater than our knowledge and as we proceed, to do so with awareness, caution, and deep respect for life and the well-being of the future.
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