What Makes Us Human: Art + Genomics Convergence

Heirloom Project, by Gina Czarnecki, grows living portraits of Gina’s daughters from their own cells that have been cultured from a single sample taken from their mouths in 2014. They grow on delicate glass casts of their faces in the life support system that provides the best conditions for growth, outside the lab. Combining innovative new methods and cell nurturing cocktails, using equipment readily available, over time the cells reach the thickness of tissue paper. They are then preserved, ‘lifted’ and presented as a personalised three-dimensional extra cellular matrix structure. A scientifically accurate portrait. Heirloom is something of value passed down through generations that parents might decide to leave for – and from – their children.