Our Ethics Application

As we progressed further along our path, we where required to make an ethics application, in order to access our individual genome information. The possibility that the university might refuse us permission to witness ourselves in the mirror of our genetic information was both offensive and frightening. The thought that companies could gain access to our genetic information with more ease than we could for our own personal research rang with a certain hypocrisy. Exactly what was the problem with us accessing this information about ourselves?: The threat that we might discover something about ourselves that we where not mentally equipped to handle. This threat was overcome by our assertion that we would undertake specialized genetic counselling should such an event occur. 

The other issue we had to address was who was to be titled the Chief Investigator for the project? The problem being that we were both falling into archetypal categories. David was the 'White Man' and I was the 'Indigenous Woman'. This was problematic as there is a history of 'white men' taking all the credit for research, while their indigenous and/or female workforce go without acknowledgement. We resolved this potential conflict through acknowledging that this dynamic exists, and mutually coming to an agreement that David would be titled the chief investigator within this collaboration. Partially, because I already had my Masters in Biological Arts and wanted to give David the opportunity to expand his profile into new territory. And partially, because the scientific aspect of the project would be largely managed by David in line with his qualifications in genetic science. 

However, for all this one question lay unanswered: who owns our genetic information at the completion of this project? The project was financially supported by SymbioticA, and made possible through the facilities at UWA. Does this give them a right to access and/or profit from our deeply personal information? If you have the answers please let us know. 

The Begining

 

 

PROJECT: Sequence the genome of Helah Milroy and David Whyatt to compare against the genome of the Zebrafish, in order to determine who is more 'fishy'. 

BACKGROUND: It all began with a discussion on the ins and outs of interpersonal relationships and the traumas that shape them. As we dug deeper into ourselves (and each other), the shadowy figures of the Mermaid and the Orphan began to emerge, connected by an invisible thread: a deep sense of being somehow unlovable and without voice. 

As our discussions proceeded, so too did our understanding of the interaction between human and non-human worlds, both tangibly and metaphorically. In particular, the relationship between humans and fish. Did you know that in WA you cannot legally speaking be cruel to a fish?  They are not a protected species under the Animal Welfare Act (2002). It was this revelation that got us thinking about the traumas affecting our interpersonal relationships. 

It raised many questions: was our seeming monstrosity, our un-lovableness, the effect of our being the subjects of cruelty? Or were we so unlovable that we could be said to have caused this cruelty against us? Exactly what gave people the right to treat us this way - like fish? And exactly how fishy were we? There was only one way to find out: DNA.