Art with a capital "I"
fter Michael Jackson died, fans paid crazy sums for memorabilia as varied as blueprints to his family home, bricks from the building where he first performed, and the legendary red suede jacket.
What would they think of a portrait that showed the strands of his DNA?
DNA 11 , in Canada, was the first to create DNA-inspired artwork (they have since spawned a host of copycats), turning genome sequences into design installation on canvas, glass or crytsal.
The company was started by best pals Nazim Ahmed and Adrian Salamunovic over a bottle of wine four years ago. Ahmed worked in biotech, Salamunovic in marketing; they had the nous to make the idea fly.
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Image: DNA 11
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A little bit of yourself | |
“The first piece we created,” Ahmed says, “was just a fun thing, a picture of my DNA and his. It was a natural cross between our interests, but we never thought it would be a business. Somehow it took on a life of its own.”
Fun, art, gimmick, whatever you call it, DNA 11’s artwork has made it to galleries in New York, Tokyo and Mumbai, sells in design stores, was featured in an episode of CSI: New York, and ships to more than 50 countries, one of them India.
Qadir Rangwala had always worked in his family’s dyeing business, but loved art. He saw a DNA 11 piece and liked it so much he asked to set up operations here in India. Since last November, DNA 11 India has sold more than 40 pieces to Bollywood stars, socialites, and CEOs.
Want one? First, choose colour, size, and framing. Next, with their DNA collection kit, swab your cheek, and send it in. It goes from Mumbai to a New York lab, and then to Canada where it’s printed on a canvas. A few weeks later, it’s at your door.
Rangwala is reassuring about the security of your DNA information: “We destroy it immediately after making the artwork.” Ahmed adds that their designers never examine a person’s DNA, except the few strands that make it to the canvas.
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