Towards the Immortalisation of Kira and Rama explores the intersections of life, death, and biotechnology. Developed during a 2010 residency at SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia, this bio-art installation centers on two fetal calves, Kira and Rama, whose cells were isolated and cultured with the aim of achieving “immortality” within a laboratory context. The work includes a bioreactor containing a silkworm cocoon seeded with living cells from the calf Kira, creating a powerful juxtaposition of life in suspension alongside preserved biological remains.

In the installation, Kratz pairs these living cell cultures with preserved relics of the calves, including their hearts, skins, and histology slides, highlighting the often-hidden non-human victims of biotechnological progress. Fetal calves, largely unseen by the public, play an essential role in cell and tissue culture research through the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS), a nutrient medium derived from unborn calves.

Exhibited at The Block in 2011, the installation invited viewers to confront these ethical complexities in a direct and visceral manner. As part of the exhibit, visitors were offered meat pies made from the flesh of adult cows, underscoring the often-invisible role of maternal animals in scientific and agricultural processes.

Through this piece, Kratz invites reflection on the unseen victims of scientific consumption and challenges viewers to consider the ethical and existential dilemmas posed by our pursuit of scientific progress. By allowing audiences to encounter the "living" cells of animals that no longer exist, Towards the Immortalisation of Kira and Rama becomes a meditation on the boundaries of life and death, as well as a critique of the often unacknowledged sacrifices underlying scientific and economic advancement.