Transpositions
Transpositions (2018)
Transpositions is an artist book that reflects on the concept and choreography of transposition in biology and music, feminist and queer kinship, and kinship beyond the family and across species.
Transpositions (2018-2019) was a multimedia project that consisted of a performance, an artist book, and a sound piece. The work takes inspiration from the American geneticist Barbara McClintock’s discovery of transposition, of so-called ‘jumping genes’, in her experiments with maize. In genetics, transposition describes horizontal gene transfers, not from parent to offspring but, for example, from one organism to another through copying, implanting, and inserting. Transposition also describes the deletion, imbrication, and shifting positions of genetic material within a chromosome. In music, transposition means to translate a melody, chord, or interval into a different key.
The poetic text, performance, and a concertina artist book were structured around seven metaphorical transpositions.
Transpositions was commissioned by Sarah Franklin and Lucy van de Wiel and funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Cambridge Sociology Department. The performance was presented at the New Hall Art Collection, Cambridge, on 24 October 2018. A sound piece, the artist book, and the costume were included in an installation for Art Night 2019 at the Francis Crick Institute.
Description: hard-bound artist book in a concertina fold. Material: paper, cloth, embossed text in gold. Designed by Jasmine Brady.