Madonna con Clone, Art on Genetics by Hunter O'Reilly

Madonna con Clon by Hunter O’Reilly (2001)

Hunter O’Reilly is a rare mix of artist and geneticists whose art revolves around the science of biology and biotechnology. She now teaches a course titled Biology Through Art, at Loyola University Chicago, where students create artwork in a biology lab.

This painting above, titled Madonna con Clon (2001) is her abstraction on biotechnology:

A human clone may have the same DNA genome as another, but would be a unique individual with a unique personality and soul. The painting, Madonna con Clon, depicts the loving relationship between a mother and a human cloned child and the uniqueness of each.

Whether or not you agree that humans should be cloned, the first human clone will likely be created in the next few years. The term clone has negative connotations. The very word makes us think of a xerox copy. We know how identical twins are very different people with unique personalities. Identical twins have more in common than human clones will. Identical twins have the same mitochondrial DNA and are raised in the same household in the same time in history. A later born twin, a human clone, would be raised in a different environment at a different time in history. A human clone would also have different mitochrondrial DNA, unless the egg is donated by the woman being cloned. For the infertile person being cloned, the human clone would be a biological sibling, but socially, would be their child.

Link | Art Gallery

Previously on Neatorama:

• Visual DNA Art by Daniel Becker
• Glowing Bacteria Art – Stocker and Nestelbacher’s GFPixel