The Absence of Alice
The Absence of Alice is an evolving series of exhibitions by Svenja Kratz, inspired by her five-year work with cell and tissue culture at Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) as part of the Tissue Repair and Regeneration (TRR) Group from 2008 to 2011. The title references Kratz's initial experience with the Saos-2 cell line, derived in 1973 from an 11-year-old girl she named Alice, sparking an exploration into the ethical, philosophical, and emotional aspects of using human cells in scientific research.
The project has grown to include six major exhibitions and several smaller deviations, expanding Kratz’s initial engagement with cell culture into other areas of applied biology, such as genetic engineering and the culture of human and fetal calf cells. Each exhibition combines various mediums—photomedia, sculpture, video, and bioart—to create interconnected assemblages that trace Kratz’s evolving relationship with contemporary biotechnologies.
This series offers a reflective journey on themes of life, memory, and individuality within biotechnological frameworks, documenting the development of The Absence of Alice from its early stages through to more recent projects that continue to deepen and extend these inquiries.
PROJECT PARTNERS: The Absence of Alice was developed in a creative partnership between The Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) and The Creative Industries Faculty (CIF) at QUT, Brisbane (Aus). Completion of works for the series would not be possible without the support from the Tissue Repair and Regeneration (TRR) Group and CIF technical staff. Special thanks to Dr Tony Parker, Dr Derek Van Lonkhuyzen and Dr Jacqui McGovern from IHBI and visual arts technician Michael Riddle. Many thanks are also extended to Dr Dan Mafe, Dr Courtney Pedersen and Prof. Zee Upton for guidance and unwavering support. Thank you.
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AOA #1, 2008
The first instance of The Absence of Alice was exhibited at the QUT Visual Art Gallery in February 2008. The show featured a series of interconnected works inspired by six months of working with Saos-2 cells—a bone cancer cell line derived from an 11-year-old girl in 1973—at QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI). The works explore the transformative nature and continual "becoming" of Alice’s cells, as well as the uncanny presence of these living fragments from an absent human body.
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AOA #2, 2008
The second iteration of The Absence of Alice, titled Alice, Ants, and the Armyworm, was exhibited at the QUT Art Museum’s Tom Heath Space in August 2008. This show expanded on the uncanny transformation of Alice’s Saos-2 cells by incorporating new works, including Untitled Insects, inspired by co-culturing Saos-2 cells with SF9 insect cells from the Fall Armyworm, highlighting interconnectedness and continual change.
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AOA#3, 2009
The third iteration of The Absence of Alice, Lines of Flight and Self-Assemblage, was shown at the QUT Visual Art Gallery in December 2009. It incorporated new lab experiences, such as cell contamination with fungal spores, and referenced materials like Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS). The exhibition explored interconnection, temporal blending, and used birds as symbols of "creative evolution" and the journey into the unknown.
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AOA#4, 2010
The fourth iteration of The Absence of Alice, titled The Absence of Alice and The Things that Open their Wings and are Otherwise not Noticeable, was exhibited at The Queensland Academy of Creative Industries (QACI) in July 2010. This exhibition refined earlier concepts and introduced new works exploring cycles of life and death, creation and destruction
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AOA#5, 2010
The fifth iteration of The Absence of Alice, titled The Absence of Alice and the Elasticity of the Almost, was created during a three-month residency at SymbioticA, Centre of Excellence in Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia in 2010. The works reflect on the process of isolating primary cells from two fetal calves, capturing both the horror and wonder inherent in cell isolation.
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AOA#6, 2011
The sixth iteration of The Absence of Alice, titled The Absence of Alice and the Bone Gardens, was exhibited at The Block gallery, QUT Creative Industries Precinct, in August 2010. This installation examined cycles of life and death and highlighted complex relationships between humans and more-than-human organisms in scientific research and daily practices of consumption.