Secret of Life

The Secret of Life was an artwork about layers, hidden codes, and the complex structures, equations and histories that lie beneath the surface. It took inspiration from Rosalind Franklin, whose X-Ray diffraction photographs suggestive of the double helix were integral to the discovery of the structure of DNA. The work was particularly influenced by Franklin’s story, and how the lack of recognition originally afforded to her has resulted in her being re-cast as an iconic figure.

Sound was used in The Secret of Life to create a multi-sensory experience of DNA, something usually represented by silent images. The rotating bands of DNA sequencing in the animations carried within them Franklin’s image but this was only visible periodically; the sculptural element was suggestive of the double helix, yet in order to see the shape, the work need to have been viewed from above — a deliberately inaccessible perspective.

Historical fact and representations of history were central to the process of making the work, and we engaged in a long debate about the complex relationship between Franklin the scientist and Franklin the icon. The treatment she received at the hands of her colleagues has led to her being re-cast as martyr, allegorical figure and feminist hero. A real question was raised for us about how artists, when responding to an historical figure, draw their inspirations. Can artists respond to the legend and draw an emotional, maybe partially romanticized and mythicized response from it, or are they bound by a duty to engage only with the accepted history— especially when this history remains contentious and subjective?

The Secret of Life was commissioned by The Wellcome Trust as part of the DNA50 celebrations, and was exhibited at the TwoTen Gallery, London for three months.