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.
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