This piece, part of the 'self-contained' series, draws inspiration from the mechanisms of encoding and decoding information in DNA, applying these principles to the process of image-making. By integrating evolutionary dynamics, including crossbreeding and random mutations, the work echoes the memetic characteristics of digital spaces, where images are constantly merged, altered, degraded, or recontextualized. Departing from more conventional methods, a target image is iteratively crossbred with random segments of other compressed images. This creates a mutative evolution, akin to grafting plants, where the visual “genome” is spliced with data from the broader dataset. Additionally, simple artificial life (a-life) simulations are utilised to explore 'error correction' during this mutative process, tentatively mapping the complexity of natural systems. The decoding stage reconstructs the image into a more recognisable form, supported by neural networks trained on the same dataset to restore colour and detail. This work portrays the ongoing, concurrent cycle of compression and decompression, a phenomenon mirrored in the constant evolution of shared digital spaces. Just as our cells divide, mutate, and evolve, the content in these spaces is remixed, reshaped, and, eventually, replaced. With 'self-contained 009.x,' an additional layer of self-containment is achieved: a compressed version of the final work is synthesised and stored in DNA, enclosed within a custom-made sculptural container. This brings the work full circle, from simulated natural processes in image-making to the ultimate re-encoding of the digital into physical, synthesised DNA.
