Johanna Zellmer

With ACCess mATTers I questioned if the biometric data used in passports might be replaced by the collection of one’s genetic data in the not-so-distant future. In working with Aaron Jeffs, sequencing specialist at the University of Otago Genomics Facility, I began to integrate Illumina flow cells in my work, waste products of the data collection technology known as DNA sequencing. This work represents questions of access, value, identity, and power. It is made from printed lanyards, European commemorative coins and warped, iridescent Illumina glass slithers that bear a pair of eyes copied from a gifted passport.