Dog[LAB]01


'France Cadet France Cadet

This installation presents five autonomous dog robots that have been hacked, reprogrammed and transformed into transgenic and chimerical animals so their appearance and behaviour are now hybrids of several different animal species (dog, cow, pig, sheep, chameleon, jellyfish etc.).

Each robot has its own identification sheet with its name, characteristics and genetic origin. They are autonomous and evolve on their artificial grass pad. We can observe the behaviour of these hybrid animals. They have the general morphology of a dog but some have bovine coats with horns (mad cow disease?), pig’s skin (xenotransplantation? unless it’s a cross with the famous nude mouse?), or make quavering bleats (mad cow disease? Dolly’s clone?), or mew (research for the perfect pet combining cat and dog?), strange skin, either clear like a jellyfish or phosphorescent like GFP Bunny, Eduardo Kac’s famous rabbit with Green Fluorescent Protein, well known for marking cells.

The modifications of these improbable creatures were based on very real research and experiments and demonstrate their possible consequences. This is an ironic and entertaining warning of the possible dangers and excesses of cloning, eugenics and other animal experiments.

Welcome to the brave new world …

COPYCAT
Genetic Origin:
Dog: 50%
Cat: 50%

This hybrid animal is the perfect mix between two domestic animal species: one canine and one feline. This new species combines the independence and cleanliness of a cat as well as the affectionate and playful nature of a dog: the universal pet is born. After “Cc,” the first kitten cloned in December 2001 at Texas A&M University, it’s now possible to clone your favourite dying or dead pet and to produce a pet “à la carte.”

DOLLY
Genetic Origin:
Dog: 50%
Ewe: 30%
Cow: 15%
Sheep: 5%

Since “Dolly,” the first mammal cloned in 1996, both sheep and bovines specimens have encountered difficulties in their cloning (BSE: Mad Cow Disease, progeria: premature ageing, abnormal size and various pathologies). This species aims to cure all the side effects of cloning and DNA deterioration.

JELLYDOGGY
Genetic Origin:
Dog: 90%
Jellyfish: 5%
Chameleon: 5%

The genome of this animal has been enhanced with the genes of a hydrozoan (jellyfish family) as well as the genes of the chameleon, well known for blending in with its environment. This peculiarly enables Jellydoggy to adapt to an aquatic life.

GFP Puppy:
Genetic Origin:
Dog: 99%
GFP: 1%

This animal has all the normal characteristics of a dog but also a phosphorescent coat. This peculiarly has been obtained by transferring into the genome of the animal the coding gene of the Green Fluorescent Protein, present in its natural state in jellyfish, and commonly used to mark cells. After the fluorescent mouse and Alba, Eduardo Kac’s famous rabbit, GFP Puppy marks the beginning of a new age in animal cloning, that of more evolved and complex species.

XENODOG
Genetic Origin:
Dog: 50%
Pig: 45%
Nude mouse: 5%

While the pig is an animal of sufficient intelligence and sociability to make the perfect pet, it is also the best species for supplying organs for xenotransplantations. This animal also has the same genetic defect as the nude mouse, preventing it from growing hair and from immunologically rejecting human cells and tissues.