E X P O - ancestry is an experimental design project exploring the interaction between art, science and ancestry.
Genetic ghosts. Forgotten histories. The illusion of race. The science of ancestry is interesting, meaningful, and non-intuitive. For most of human history ancestry has been shrouded in mystery and used as a divisive cultural weapon. With recent advances in genetic and genomic research, we are poised to enter a new era of understanding and common ground.
O U R G U I D I N G P H I L O S O P H Y
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Art is more than a tool to visualize data - it’s a way to expose people to scientific concepts by creating relatable experiences.
There is a long history of art expositing scientific research to wider audiences. In 1886 Georges Seurat painted Alfalfa, St. Denis, a pointillism landscape that visualizes the physics of how we see color. Seurat’s work was based on writings by Michel Eugène Chevreul who popularized concepts of color and perception drawn from the scientific research of physicists such as Isaac Newton and Hermann von Helmholtz.
T H E C O N T E N T
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The Genealogical Adam and Eve
The Genealogical Adam and Eve is a book written by S. Joshua Swamidass, M.D. Ph.D., Associate Professor of Genomics at Washington University in Saint Louis. The book invites a conversation about ancestry: from Adam and Eve to evolution, from race to kinship, from sacred to natural history. This conversation flows across five sections: fracture, ancestor, human, mystery, and crossroad. Each movement of the book is rich in visually inspiration, but also includes several layers of meaning.
This is a scientific book, based on observation, evidence and research. It engages with theology but does not claim to be a theological text. The book aligns with Peaceful Science’s mission to create common spaces to engage the public with the best available science. This project is a deep collaboration between science and art in the service of the public good. Art is a non-threatening way of bringing the public into the scientific conversation, and also a mechanism bringing science to bear on societal questions.
We would love to offer you a copy of the book to read and be inspired by. If you read it and agree with us that the message is important and timely, we’d love to talk about how we can collaborate.
To get a quick taste of the book’s content, this USA Today article, written by Nathan H. Lents, a professing Atheist, gives a very insightful review.
T H E P R O J E C T
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E X O P -
This project is designed to bring as many viewpoints as possible together to explore the concept of ancestry. Collaboration will always be one of the guiding values of the work because we believe that mixing diverse perspectives yields rich results.
T H E D E T A I L S
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Timing
We’re still in the planning phase for the project and are aiming to coordinate the rollout of the designs based on the availability of the first group of 3-5 participating designers. Our ideal release date would be sometime in March 2020.
Compensation
We plan to pay designers for the value of their work and are open to various payment options.
Reproduction
Peaceful Science would like to retain the rights to reproduce the work in various forms and will handle all of the production.
Marketing
The goal of this project is to expose a wide audience to the concepts in the book. With that in mind, we’re interested in partnering with designers who are eager to share the work within their networks and even sell products in their own shops.
M Y E X P E R I E N C E
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Hi, I’m David!
This project