Genetically manipulated tiger penises, anyone?
Traditionally, Eastern healing systems have better acknowledged the emotional and psychological impacts on healing than the conventional Western medicine. Kuang-Yi Ku, the Netherlands-based artist and designer with a background in dentistry, creates new cultural crossovers by bringing traditional Chinese medicine together with genetic manipulation and Western social sciences.
TEXT HEINI LEHTINEN IMAGES KUANG-YI KU, RONALD SMITS
In different Asian cultures, virility of a man can traditionally be enhanced by consuming a symbol of sexuality or strength. In traditional Chinese medicine, eating tiger penis — a symbol of tiger’s strength, is believed to enhance virility, as well as eating the zinc of an oyster. In Japan, an octopus is a sexual symbol.
In a speculative design project called the ‘Tiger Penis Project,’ bio-artist and designer Kuang-Yi Ku combines the DNAs of an octopus, a tiger and an oyster, cultures the cells, and 3D bioprints the new tissue cells into a new hybrid organ. This new hybrid organ can then be soaked in alcohol and consumed with herbs to enhance virility.
In the ‘Tiger Penis Project’ — as in his projects ‘Moon Ginseng’ and ‘Tarot of Pulse’ as well — Ku breaks the boundaries of the Eastern and Western medicines. He plays with the placebo effect in the healing process, and brings the Eastern traditions to novel, futuristic scenarios. With his projects, he also taps — intentionally or unintentionally — into higher belief systems as a part of healing.
Born and raised in Taipei in Taiwan and currently based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Kuang-Yi Ku holds three Masters’ degrees. As a former dentist, he holds a degree in dentistry, after which he has graduated in communication design in Taiwan, and in social design in the Netherlands.
In an interview, Kuang-Yi Ku challenges the boundaries of the traditional and the futuristic, as well as the Eastern and Western medicines.
Your recent works have largely dealt with treatment methods, in which you bring the ancient traditions of the Chinese medicine to this day. What triggers you to work on these questions?
‘Tiger Penis Project’ is my first project that is strongly related to traditional Chinese medicine [TCM].
Two years ago, some international media kept blaming China for killing tigers for practicing TCM. Even though I understand that protecting endangered species is very important of environmental conservation, I also believe in the Chinese medicine, which contains certain cultural values that differ from the mainstream Western medicine.
From this point, I started to think how to create a win-win system for both protecting the endangered tigers, and preserving the perishing Asian medical heritage.
From your perspective, what’s the value of bringing the Western and the Chinese medicine together?
Before the ‘Tiger Penis Project,’ I was actually trained by the Western medical system, and I totally did not believe in TCM prior to starting to work on TCM-related projects.
After collaborating with several TCM doctors and producing some TCM-related projects such as the ‘Tiger Penis Project,’ ‘Tarot of Pulse,’ and ‘Moon Ginseng,’ I have discovered a kind of cultural value hidden in the medical system. Which medicine we should believe in — the Eastern or the Western — should not be a black-and-white question. For me, it’s more about how to find a balance between mainstream Western medicine and alternative medical practices from the rest of the world.
Many of the treatment methods you have developed in your projects are concerned with the placebo effect. You also state that they are pseudo-scientific. Why is this your chosen approach?
As far as I understand, a part of the TCM treatments can be proven by contemporary scientific researches, and some can’t. For this reason, some people think that it might all be based on the placebo effect, and some claim that we can’t prove TCM because there isn’t enough science and technology to back it up. In my opinion, if the culture of TCM really disappears at this moment, it means that we can’t know in the future, if it has been based on the placebo effect or real effectiveness.
As an artist and a designer, I think I have the responsibility to deal with these complicated issues, because I think that a creative methodology is capable of solving the bond of the dilemma. This is why I have involved the traditional medical practice in my recent projects. I’ve been trying to find a produce a ‘hybrid’ to save the perishing medical heritage for the next generation by interweaving it with Western medicine and occultism.
Several of your projects deal with genetic manipulation. How would you justify the use of genetic manipulation for a placebo effect?
Placebo effect is actually used as a proper treatment in some countries, but it remains controversial in other regions. Genetic modification is also a kind of a normal scientific method for research and application in agriculture and food industry, for instance. It also brings along debates, because it might cause an environmental disaster.
In my project, I put two controversial things together: the projects are aiming to achieve protecting both the environment and the medical heritage, which could be an interesting combination as a reflection to the controversy of the reality. In my speculative scenarios, I try to communicate this controversy to the general public. How to apply technology ethically? If our purpose is to saving tigers in the name of love, is it reasonable to apply genetic manipulation to achieve a placebo effect? I’m interested in raising the debates and questions to push people to rethink the controversial social issues derived from the scientific research.
In the end, your recent projects tap into belief systems. Having a belief into something bigger or higher — such as spiritual or religious values, medication, or genetic manipulation — has been proven to protect in stressful situations or to assist in healing. Why have you started to work on belief systems?
To be honest, I’m not sure if there is any relation between belief systems and medical treatments. However, I do believe that people need fairytales or stories to fulfil their spiritual lives.
In some of my projects, such as the ‘Tiger Penis Project’ and ‘Moon Ginseng,’ I create some sci-fi scenarios and fictional worlds from the perspective of Asian futurism. It means that I attempt to develop several rare non-Western speculative stories that are important for the Asian community, because there are not enough sci-fi narratives from the Asian perspective. We need more stories and fairytales from more diverse perspectives, and I hope I can provide more stories to extend the Asian heritage for the next generation.
Is there a certain way you would like to see your projects evolve?
In September 2018, I took ‘Tiger Penis Project’ to Sydney to a science, technology and society studies [STS] conference 4S Sydney. For me, it was a rare and great opportunity to communicate with academic scholars from humanities and social sciences about how a design methodology could deal with the contemporary social issues, especially with those derived from cutting-edge science. Now I’m continuing in this design direction; how to bring design, medicine and sociology together. It could be interesting to investigate building a new way of research.
Recently, I have also transformed my projects into different participatory activities, such as workshops, performances and talks. In the events, I’m collecting the reactions from the audience, and collaborating with sociologists to research this information. I might develop a new research cycle that interweaves art-design, science, and sociology. This could be the next step.
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The interview is a part of ‘Design for Connectedness,’ an overarching concept of Brussels-based design and research agency Raven & Wood Agency. ‘Design for Connectedness’ looks into the experience of connectedness to ourselves, others, the environment, time and energy as crucial elements of well-being, and as a method of design research.
