2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

To what extent does Patricia Piccinini challenge our perspective on the ethics of bioengineering?

breeding pigs for the harvest of their organs, whilst the addition of offspring is used to comment on the side-effect of nurturing and love between a mother and a child that will invariably be present. Piccinini further accentuates this, in the babies deliberately feeding from the mother, implying the vitality of mothers in the development/life of children. Other features that portray strong connotations within the piece is the artistic choice to make this organism naked, not only does it evoke a sense of vulnerability but simultaneously reinforces this creature’s animalistic nature. In addition, alongside this bareness and notion of maternal love, the mother’s facial expression and hand positioning personifies her as quite bored or hopeless, emphasising the lifelessness in her exploitation. In doing so Piccinini elicits a powerful sense of sympathy and empathy in the audience. Nonetheless, these choices also effectively work in augmenting the shock factor and memorability of the piece. Does this then begin to show insight into Piccinini’s point of view on bioengineering? Expanding on these ideas, through the use of personification in the organism’s human-like features and Piccinini’s propagation of a relationship between humans (the audience) and this genetically modified creature, not only does this normalise such phenomenon but additionally comments on the ability for such creatures to be like us. Overall, Piccinini creates a thoroughly effective artwork to comment on how technology will be applied to the natural world over time. Particularly the ethics and morals surrounding “breeding animals purely for organ- transfer” (Piccinini, 2002). Piccinini recognises the opposing perspectives of this ethical debate, as this phenomenon could save thousands of lives but simultaneously exploits just as many. Although she extrapolates a strong sense of empathy for these creatures, she admits that if it could save her child, she would willingly take one of these organs; “sometimes honesty, emotions empathy and ethics don't always line up.” (Piccinini,

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