Common Flowers

Common Flowers, a project by Shiho Fukuhara & Georg Tremmel, is based on the first commercially available genetically modified flower, the blue “Moondust” GM carnation developed and marketed by japanese beer-brewing company Suntory. But although Suntory applied for and was awarded with permission to grows this GM plant in its key markets, it chooses not to. Instead the GM blue flowers are grown in Columbia, harvested, and shipped as cut-flowers to the worldwide markets.
With Common Flowers we reverse the plant growing process, by growing, multiplying and technically ‘cloning’ new plants from purchased cut-flowers using Plant Tissue Culture methods. The blue GM carnations are brought back to life using DIY biotech methods involving everyday kitchen utensils and easily purchasable and ready materials.
And because the plants are officially considered “not harmful” and therefore legally permitted to grow outside, we took the next logical step and released the blue GM carnation into the environment. This action should ask questions about the state of intellectual property, ownership and copyright issues surrounding the bio-hacking and bio-bending of plants.

Common Flowers received an Honorary Mention from Prix Ars Electronica 2009, in the Hybrid Art category and it’s currently installed in Linz (Cyberarts exhibition, OK Centrum. 3-09-09 / 4-10-09).

http://www.common-flowers.org