Cellout.me by Jeroen van Loon

Solo exhibition
Exhibition opening and artist talk: Wednesday, 21 March 2018 at 7 pm
Open through: 20 April 2018

What kinds of questions are raised by the selling of one individual’s full genome? What is the value of a single human DNA profile? At the end of 2015, Dutch artist Jeroen van Loon offered his entire DNA data – 380 GB of personal DNA data – for sale, online, for a year, on a dedicated website. Anybody could place a bid through www.cellout.me. After careful consideration, the artist decided not to stipulate a contract with the eventual buyer, and not to fix a production cost: the data were put on auction at 0 euros as a starting price, and were sold on 27 September 2016 to the Dutch Verbeke Foundation, at a final price of 1100 euros. The buyer becomes the owner of the entire piece, an installation composed of the server cabinet where the data are stored, some framed pictures documenting the process of extracting and encoding the artist’s DNA and four original letters written by different specialists upon the artist’s request. The letters provide different perspectives on the value of the artist’s DNA. Christie’s Amsterdam tries to estimate the artistic value of the artist’s DNA, contextualizing it in the history of conceptual and performance art; ErasmusMC discusses the moral value of one complete human genome, concluding: “You could think of DNA as a digital version of a person. If you guard his genome and keep it, you can save him from obscurity, and maybe, one day, bring him back to life again. How much is mankind worth to me? How much is it worth to you? DNA is mysterious and ordinary, unknown and familiar at the same time. But above all, the value of the genome is personal.” KPMG (a company focused on big data) considers the speculative value of the artist’s DNA at this moment (nothing, unless it reveals some significant deviation). Finally, Fox-It (a cybersecurity company) insists on the need to protect these data, because DNA is the new gold and “access to the goldmine” should be controlled.

More than a take on contemporary digital culture and genetics, Cellout.me can be seen as a work of speculative science fiction that is able to raise uncomfortable questions on the privacy, economics and bioethics of the future. Van Loon took pains to get the most complete and faithful digital transcription of his genome – the most faithful self-portrait even. What’s recorded are rough data without meaning – but, if interpreted and turned meaningful, these information can give the buyer unprecedented power not only over the artist’s persona, but over his lineage, given that the DNA code is shared in part with his parents, siblings and heirs. Whatever happens in the future, he’s no longer the owner of the most faithful translation of himself into data. The sale of this artwork pulls future digital culture into the present, asking new questions concerning authorship, intellectual property, copyright, privacy, big data and ethics: What are the consequences of owning someone else’s DNA data? How does this influence the spatial privacy of the biological owner and his family members?

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Jeroen van Loon
Cellout.me
Artist talk

In his speech, Jeroen van Loon will give a brief general introduction to his work and then focus on the Cellout.me project which revolves around the idea of selling the artist's DNA data to the highest bidder through an online auction. Van Loon will explain why this idea is relevant to today's data-driven society, and what kind of fundamental questions it poses to privacy, data authorship, big data and authenticity.

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Jeroen van Loon lives and works in Utrecht, Netherlands. He received a Bachelors in Digital Media Design and a European Media Master of Arts from HKU University of the Arts Utrecht. His fascination revolves around revealing, documenting and visualizing digital culture. Earlier work focused on its personal and societal impact, while recent work focuses on the Internet itself: its architecture, physicality and connectivity – speculating on how these will change in the future. Van Loon gave two TEDx talks, won the European Youth Award and was awarded the K. F. Hein Art Grant. Recent work is included in the collection of the Verbeke Foundation, Belgium. Recent exhibitions include the Centraal Museum Utrecht, Dutch Design Week, z33 in Hasselt, Cyberfest 9, V2_ in Rotterdam, Tech Art Expo and transmediale18 in Berlin.


Production of the exhibition: Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, 2018

Artistic Director: Janez Janša
Producer: Marcela Okretič
Executive Producer: Sonja Grdina
Public Relations: Alja Žorž
Technician: Valter Udovičić
Documentation: Jure Goršič (photo), Gregor Gobec (video)

Supported by: the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Ljubljana.

Cellout.me is included in the Collection Verbeke Foundation, Kemzeke, Belgium.