Field Notes
Lab Documentation
The actual making of a living archive — mating, injection, screening, failure and fluorescence. Photographed and filmed at the NYUAD Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, February 2026, with earlier zebrafish studies from January 2025.
01 · Concept
The Starting Idea
Every encoding run begins on paper: which documents enter the fish, how the sequence is screened, and what the reader installation will decode. This is the sketch the whole wet-lab phase grew out of.
The archive chosen for the first living encoding: materials from the Al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art at NYU Abu Dhabi — including the catalog of the First Exhibition of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, Abu Dhabi, 1980.
02 · Wet Lab
Five Days in February 2026
The encoding run documented as it happened — from collecting eggs to reading fluorescence two days post-fertilization.
03 · Film
Video Documentation
04 · Early Works
Zebra Fish, January 2025
A year before the encoding run, the first zebrafish studies at the Sadler Lab — learning to read fluorescence, to watch a heart beat under the microscope, and to think of an organism as a medium.
05 · People
Collaborators
Made at the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi, during the artist-in-residency 2024–25.
With deep thanks to Shashi Ranjan (microinjection), Elena Magnani (plasmid construct design), Kirsten Sadler Edepli and the Sadler Lab, and the Al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art.
06 · Notebook
Writings from the Lab
Two pieces from the project notebooks — typewriter drawings made alongside the fish, preserved exactly as written.
zebra star1 (2025)
|
| .:' - o -
- o - _|_ _.::' |
| | | (_.'
_|_ .-. -o- | _|_
| ( ) | --o-- |
- | `-' #would*# | |
o- they%%%%%%%be %war%%ends --o--
| I*wish###%#%%%%raised %*until%###%%%% |
wouldn't+die+++++++++++++++++***to+heaven+*temporarily%%@@
children==++++++*+++======++++++++**+***********++*++=++++*****## ':.
the++++=========++++++they#**happily=--say--=========++***#%%%%%%%%%%% '::._
I*wish***++#######*We==were-=playing###**with#****stars+++++++++*******##%% '._)
*+==++*+**+***+#%####%%%%%###*++=====+++****###########%%#confused:##%%%%%%%%%@
| *++*#@####+*#**++*+++=++**############******#####%%%%%%are where%%%%%%%?
- o - #then######*++++++***+******#########%#######******they were%%you
| | %they#*return**to***their##home%%% #when%%%%%%them
- o - safely %the*****ask@ |
| #family@@ | | --o-- |
_|_ @@@@ - o - -+- | - o -
| | | | .-. | |
| - o - | -+- ( )
-+- | -o- | | `-'
| r | -+- _|_
| | |
-o-
| _|_
| dna storage (2025)
%########################*********************%
*:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::%
*::::::::::::::::::::::-::::::::::::::::::::::%
#::::::::::::::::::::++=+*::::::::::::::::::::%
*::::::::::::::::::::-==++::::::::::::::::::::%
*:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::%
*::::::::::::::::===:=-:--:::-::::::::::::::::%
*:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::%
*:::::::::::--==::-::::-::::::-:::::::::::::::%
*::::::::::::::::::::::::::---=:::::::::::::::%
#:::::::::*###***==**#*##*+***##::::::::::::::%
*:::::::::*#***=====-#-**:=*+###:::-*:::::::::%
#:::::::::**#*==*-+*+***+***+###::=**:::::::::%
#:::::::::*####*#*##############::=:::::::::::%
#:::::::::::-----==-====++++++++*+::::::::::::%
#:::::::::*#**+++*##****=-:-=++:=:::::::::::::%
#:::::::::+##*+#=##*:::::::::*#:=-==::::::::::%
#:::::::::+####=*-:::::::::==+#***==#:::::::::%
#:::::::::=###**=:::::::::*=*###-*+:+=::::::::%
#:::::::::=##=:*=:::::::-*-=####=##:-*::::::::%
#:::::::::=*:::*=::::::**:::::::*##:==::::::::%
#:::::::::-::::*=:::::*:::::::::+##:-#-:::::::%
#:::::::::+::::*-:::*=::::-*#**=+#*::=::::::::#
#::::::::*+::=*=+:-*:::::=######*#:::+::::::::#
#::::::::*+-###=+-+::**#*+######+=:=:-::::::::#
#::::::::#+*#*#=-##=*###*:+####*=:++::::::::::#
%::::::::**:**=-*#*:####:::::::+=:+*::::::::::#
%:::::::::*:::+-=::=#**:::::::*#*+=:::::::::::#
%::::::::::-::::::=###*:::::**+++=::::::::::::#
%:::::::::=##*=-*+*#*+#*++=++=+#+:::::::::::::#
%:::::::=::###=*=--+*=:-:===*###+:::-:-:::::::#
%:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::#
%::::::::::::-==-=-:=:===:==-=-:::::::::::::::#
%:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::*
%============================================+%
*--==--------------------------*
+::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::*
+:::::::::::::-++=:::::::::::::*
+::::::::::::::==::::::::::::::*
+::::::::::--:--:-:::::::::::::*
+:::::::--=:-=-:-::=:-==:::::::*
+::::::------=========:::::::::*
+::::::##**++=****=*#*:::::::::*
+::::::##*=*=*=+*+**#*:-*::::::*
+::::::+***********++===:::::::*
+::::::#****##***++**=:::::::::*
*::::::*#*+**-:::::=*-===::::::*
*::::::*##+:::::::++#**+==:::::*
| *::::::**:+:::::-+:*#*#*-=:::::*
| .:' - o - *::::::=::=::::+-:::::**:+-::::*
- o - _|_ _.::' | *:::::=:::=::-=:::*#*=**:=:::::*
| | | (_.' *:::::*-+*=*=:-+=+####*::=:::::*
_|_ .-. -o- | _|_ *:::::*=*#=+*=##*-*##*:==::::::*
| ( ) | --o-- | *:::::*=+==*=+#*:::::*==:::::::+
- | `-' #would*# | | *::::::-::::=##+:::=+*=::::::::+
o- they%%%%%%%be %war%%ends --o-- *:::::==#==*=*+*+++=+#-::::::::+
| I*wish###%#%%%%raised %*until%###%%%% | *:::::::=======---===-:::::::::+
wouldn't+die+++++++++++++++++***to+heaven+*temporarily%%@@ *::::::::=--:----:---::::::::::+
children==++++++*+++======++++++++**+***********++*++=++++*****## ':. *:::::-:::-:-::-:---:------:---*
the++++=========++++++they#**happily=--say--=========++***#%%%%%%%%%%% '::._
I*wish***++#######*We==were-=playing###**with#****stars+++++++++*******##%% '._)
*+==++*+**+***+#%####%%%%%###*++=====+++****###########%%#confused:##%%%%%%%%%@
| *++*#@####+*#**++*+++=++**############******#####%%%%%%are where%%%%%%%?
- o - #then######*++++++***+******#########%#######******they were%%you
| | %they#*return**to***their##home%%% #when%%%%%%them
- o - safely %the*****ask@ |
| #family@@ | | --o-- |
_|_ @@@@ - o - -+- | - o -
| | | | .-. | |
| - o - | -+- ( )
-+- | -o- | | `-'
| r | -+- _|_
| | |
-o-
| _|_
|