XÙN解读｜“祖细迟滞——李佳宝个展”作品阐释（二）

/月经花园/

Menstrual Garden

李佳宝，2022‍

《月经花园》是一项科学探究与多感官装置。

自人类生命之始，月经伴随而来，然而我们对经血中所含成分知之甚少。因此，我们运用质谱法来探索月经中的蛋白质。这是首次在同一个人身上进行的长时间的月经血蛋白追踪。于是，我们建立了首个稳定的经血蛋白质谱。我们找到了许多静脉血液中未见的蛋白质。其中一些蛋白质保护女性生殖器官免受感染，并促进微生物群的繁荣。有些蛋白质向细胞发出死亡或转变的信号。许多蛋白质对于细胞组成子宫壁或分泌构成粘液至关重要。这些蛋白质中有许多与生育能力、子宫内膜异位症和宫颈癌有关的信息。还有些蛋白质在科学中扮演神秘角色，如主要穹顶蛋白，它以其类似穹顶的结构隐藏RNA，科学家们至今未知其用途，令我们惊讶的是在经血里却非常普遍。

在这个嗅觉作品中，三个气味瓶分别包含新鲜月经血、陈旧月经血和痛经的气味。一个瓶子里含有我们所发现的前十个在经血里独有的蛋白质。一个瓶子里长出了用经血培养的器官花园。科学家们发现，经血中的干细胞可用于修复受损组织，甚至培养出新器官。未来，女性可能使用自己的月经血进行治疗，这将克服免疫系统排斥的重大问题。

月经，我们独特的能力，曾被视为烦恼或禁忌，现在却可能成为我们的超能力。如果我们能利用经血治疗疾病，甚至培养出自己的器官（或捐赠的器官），这种超能力会创造出怎样的的身体政治？我们的超能力会被禁止还是被利用？月经会成为又一种被剥削的方式吗？如果能够在家中就轻易用经血培育出器官，那会给有月经的人带来优势吗？这种超能力能否改变子宫持有者与非持有者之间的权力平衡？

Menstrual Garden is a scientific investigation and multisensory installation.

We have been menstruating since the beginning of human life, yet there is very little known about what is in the fluid released by menstruating individuals. So we set out to find what proteins are in menstrual effluent using mass spectrometry. This is the first time anyone has tracked menstrual blood proteins in the same individual over time. In doing so, we established the first stable menstrual blood proteome. We have found many proteins not seen in venous blood. Some of these proteins protect the female reproductive organs from infection and foster the local microbiome. Others signal to cells to die or transform. Many of the proteins are essential for the way cells come together to form the walls of the uterus or excretions that constitute mucus. Many of those proteins can be linked to fertility, endometriosis, and cervical cancer. Still, others have completely mysterious roles to science, yet are quite prevalent, like the major vault protein, which hides RNA within its vault-like structure for unknown reasons.

In this olfactory piece, the three scent bottles contain the smell of fresh menstrual blood, stagnant menstrual blood, and menstrual pain. One bottle contains the top ten proteins found uniquely in menstrual blood. Another bottle has an organ garden grown out of menstrual blood. Scientists have discovered that stem cells from menstrual blood can be used to repair damaged tissue or even grow into new organs. One day, women could use their menstrual blood for their own treatment. This would overcome a major problem of immune system rejection.

Menstruation, our unique ability has been discarded and treated as an annoyance or taboo, now can become our superpower. If we can harvest menstruation blood to cure disease and grow our own organs (or organs to be donated), what new body politics does this superpower create? Will our superpower be banned or harvested? Will menstruation be one more way to be exploited? Would the ability to access and grow organs, even in the comfort of one's home, create advantages for menstruating people? Could this superpower tilt the balance of power between womb-holders and those without?

/感知之花：生物科技的柔性变革/

Sentient Clit: the Pussification of BioTech‍‍

李佳宝，WhiteFeather Hunter, Lera Niemackl, 2023

我们探究了利用经血中的干细胞，通过3D生物打印技术在实验室中培育出 Sentient Clit 的可能性。我们的研究挑战了科技领域内的男性主导叙事，提倡一种超越生殖功能，专注于快感与情感世界的女性主义和非二元性别的新思潮。本项目通过视频表演、科学实验和数字艺术呈现，激发了关于后人类愉悦、性伦理和性别规范解构的多维对话。我们深入探讨了能产生神经响应的生物打印器官的伦理复杂性，质疑生物工程中关于意识与同意的概念。我们所选择的传播成果的平台策略性地颠覆了传统的数字消费模式。通过这种方式，我们对生物资本主义提出质疑，探讨技术在物化身体空间中的传统应用。我们的项目呼吁重新评估生物技术进步在文化、伦理和社会影响方面的作用，挑战现有范式，促进包容性的科学探索。

We investigate the potential of lab-grown clitorises created by 3D bioprinting stem cells derived from menstrual fluid. Our approach challenges male-dominated narratives in tech spaces, advocating for a feminist, nonbinary methodology focused on pleasure and eroticism beyond reproductive function. The project is conveyed through video performances, scientific experiments, and digital art, fostering a multifaceted discourse on posthuman pleasure, ethics of sexuality, and the deconstruction of gender norms. We scrutinise the ethical complexities of bioprinted organs capable of neural responses, questioning notions of consent and sentience in bioengineering. The use of social platforms like OnlyFans for disseminating our work strategically disrupts traditional digital consumption patterns. Through this, we address biocapitalism and control of narratives around sex and pleasure, questioning normative uses of technology in spaces that objectify bodies. Our project calls for a reevaluation of biotechnological advance in its cultural, ethical, and societal impacts, challenging existing paradigms and fostering inclusive scientific exploration.

/音外话/

SaySee

交互装置 Interactive Device

李佳宝，Steven Wilkinson，2024‍

参与者进入装置后，请按下按钮并开始在麦克风上讲话。你可以进行对话、独白、辩论、故事接龙、演讲、自白等。3分钟后，人工智能会根据你说的话和情感绘制出视频。你也可以看到由此之前的其他参与者的话绘制出的视频。该项目实现了通过简单谈论电影内容，快速创造AI生成电影的可能。《音外话》可以作为从头脑风暴会议中创造亮点集锦的工具。该系统还展示了创建假新闻视频是多么的容易。

"SaySee" is an advanced speech-to-video generative AI system transforming spoken words into visually emotive videos. It analyzes the emotional tone of speech, converting it into a corresponding visual narrative. For instance, a political debate's intensity could be visualized in a dynamic comic book style with exclamation bubbles. News coverage of serious topics like war would evoke a somber black-and-white palette, capturing the gravity of the situation. Conversely, happy conversations would lead to bright and colorful videos. The video captures both the content and the underlying emotion beyond the words.

Upon entering the installation, participants press a button and start talking on the microphone. They could have a conversation, a monologue, a debate, a story game, a speech, a confession, etc. The AI then creates a short video representation of their speech on six TV sets.

This project made it possible to quickly create AI-generated film by simply talking about the film. "SaySee" could be a tool to create highlight reels from brainstorming sessions. The system also shows how easy and fast it can be to create videos for fake news.