Life, death, and a crystallized body

Associated media

Ordinary Klein:
’The Invisible Human’

Industry Gallery, Washington, D.C.

9 February­–20 March 2013

The ‘Invisible Human’ exhibition brings together contemporary medical technology with the scientific art form of crystal growing to produce a fascinating and probably controversial installation at the Industry Gallery in Washington, USA.

For 40 days and 40 nights starting 9 February 2013, Ordinary Klein – a collaboration between Studio Tobias Klein and Ordinary Ltd – turns a data imprint of a human body, digitally ‘sectioned’ through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), into a template onto which crystals are grown under interactive audience participation.

The background story begins at 12:31a.m. on August 5, 1993, when Joseph Paul Jernigan was executed by lethal injection. Jernigan had been sentenced to death following his stabbing and shooting of 75-year- old Edward Hale, who discovered the then-27-year-old Texan stealing a microwave oven. Jernigan spent 12 years in prison before his final plea for clemency was denied. He then agreed to donate his body for scientific research. Anatomists froze his cadaver solid at –73°C, then cryosectioned it at 1 millimetre intervals into 1,871 slices, which were then photographed. The scientists named the experiment the Visible Human Project.

Living cells consist of an aqueous solution inside of a cell membrane. The soft tissues of many living systems are essentially structured water: 50–75% of the human body is H2O. This high proportion of water makes crystallization within the body occur in two main ways: through dehydration, when minerals crystallize from a saturated solution, and by freezing, when ice crystals are formed. The formation of crystals in living cells is usually fatal.

For the ‘Invisible Human’ exhibition, Ordinary Klein presents an installation that echoes the 1,871 slices of Joseph Paul Jernigan. A human body is digitally divided using MRI scanning, and turned into a template onto which crystals are grown. The body sections are given shape through the crystallization processes that echo those occurring in the body as it dies.

The audience is invited to influence the growth of the crystals by manipulating the temperature within the exhibition cases. Each slice is a combination of a unique human being, a unique crystallization process, and a unique installation context. Interaction via the exhibition’s website has an impact on the resulting growth patterns. As one phase turns into the next, the space continuously changes, oscillating between life and death.

INDUSTRY | Washington | Atlas Theater District | 1358 Florida Ave., NE | Washington, DC 20002 | T 202.399.1730

Tobias Klein

Tobias Klein is the principal of Studio Tobias Klein, a practice operating in the between of architecture, across the fields of art and installation, experimental design, interactivity and urbanism. Trained internationally as an architect, his work maintains a fascination with the construct of space, while questioning its modern interpretation. Through the works at varies scales and cutting edge 3D printing materiality, the studio achieves a re-positioning of this understanding in the context of embodiment, perception and projection. The works constantly evolve between static and dynamic models, shifting from objects to installations and design, prospecting new visual territories in the field of narrated embodied space. The work of the practice is linked to his academic research at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London where Tobias Klein holds the position of Studio Master of Dip 1.

His work is internationally exhibited (Royal Academy Summer Show 2006 - Winner of the student prize and 2009, 2010, 2011, at the Venice Architectural Biennale 2010, the ARAM Gallery 2010 and 2012). Recent shows included a solo exhibition at the Slaughter House gallery ‘Augmented Exuberance’ 2012, group participation at Robots & Avatars - UK Selection at Europe House (2012), Friday Late at the V&A, June 2012, the 3d Print show London, as well as Bedlam at the Old Vic Tunnels by the Lazarides Gallery. Studio Tobias Klein is represented by internationally known art collector and art manager Jason Colchin Carter.

www.kleintobias.com