Abu Dhabi: When one thinks of artists and art-related organisations showcasing their work, high profile venues, such as the Emirates Palace Hotel or the Manarat Al Saadiyat are usually at the top of the list.
However, DeScript, a Russian graphic design company that specialises in DNA portraits, chose a different venue to present their work in the UAE.
"This is the first time we are showcasing our offerings in the UAE and the Middle East. We chose Big Boys Toys 2011 as the venue because it is a highly anticipated lifestyle exhibition that opens up tremendous opportunities to find new partners and customers," Yousuf Khesuani, Founder and Creator of DeScript, said.
New partnerships
"DeScript will debut at Big Boys Toys 2011 as a full-fledged business in the Middle East and we are very keen to establish new partnerships in the region, especially in the UAE…we are also planing to open a branch in the UAE in the future because we believe that this avant-garde concept will be appreciated in the Emirates," he added.
According to Khesuani, the DeScript was created and patented in Russia by group of young scientists and talented designers in 2008.
To get the required cells, to create the DNA portraits, a scraping is taken from the inner part of the cheek with a special brush.
Then the scraping, which is saturated with millions of DNA copies, is applied to a gel that is connected to electric power.
That causes the DNA to relocate to a certain distance in proportion to their mass to form a unique graphic pattern. "We start the process by selecting fragments of genetic information that are different from human to human," Khesuani said.
These fragments encode specific proteins that create the specific characteristics of each human … throughout the process; we select the most deeply studied personal characteristics of each client and put them into the DNA portrait," he explained.
"Our technique eliminates possible errors. Since we consider only highly specific areas of the genome that are not repeated, errors in deciphering the DNA, as well as in drawing a portrait are practically nil," he added.
Art world's reaction
While DeScript is a for-profit company, Khesuani believes that the art world, which is constantly evolving and looking for new inspiration, will embrace artwork such as the DNA portraits as a new addition to the field of contemporary art.
"We have no doubt that the art world is ready to accept and consider a portrait of DNA as the next step in contemporary art."
