Discovery & Concept
I discovered a spike-encoding contig assembled from BioNTech on GitHub, which revealed that DNA is essentially digital code. Unlike computers that use binary (0 and 1), life operates with A, C, G, and U/T - the nucleotides, nucleosides, or bases that form genetic information.
This discovery led to a fascinating realisation about the similarities between DNA letters and musical notes. When I shared this idea with Dave, he had a unique and brilliant insight: interpreting the first three letters (A, C, G) as musical notes and T as a rest or space.
Audio-Visual Translation
Dave patched these notes into his modified 303 synthesiser, creating the sonic foundation for the project. Building on this musical interpretation, I developed a series of generative visuals that react to the audio output. The organism that distorts and transforms is driven by the audio, responding to sound levels and filters - particularly echo and reverb effects.
We've produced one audiovisual track and debuted the work at the Interactive exhibition at the Lightbox Gallery in Leicester, June 2021. For the performance, Dave used the affordable Behringer TD-3-MO, demonstrating that innovative work doesn't require expensive equipment.
The hardware for the gig at the Lightbox Gallery. Note the 303 used was the very affordable Behringer TD-3-MO
Visual Narrative & Biological Interpretation
My visuals attempt to mimic viral behaviour - specifically how viruses grow and attempt to bind to receptors called Fc receptors. The colour in the animation represents the immune system, aided by the vaccine, firing into action to defend against a perceived threat. After a period of intense activity, the immune system creates the required antibodies that help engulf and destroy the virus.
The visual language deliberately reflects immune system responses:
Active Immune Response:
Shifting colour palettes
Increased size and scale
Erratic, energetic movement
Dormant Immune System:
Reduced size and muted colours
Gentle, subdued movement
Personal Context
This subject holds particular significance for me personally. Having lived with an autoimmune illness for the past two decades, I was categorised by the UK government as CEV (Clinically Extremely Vulnerable) during the COVID pandemic.
For years, I've been acutely aware of my body's reactions to perceived foreign bodies - frenzied periods of immune activity followed by extreme fatigue. These personal experiences directly inform the visual representation of immune system behaviour in the work.
Future Development
Looking ahead, we aim to develop this concept further with additional time and resources. Our goal is to explore more comprehensively what DNA might sound like when translated to audio.
Dave wants to properly convert DNA sequences to MIDI files, which would give us scope to develop:
More sophisticated audio compositions
Enhanced visual interpretations
Collaborative opportunities for others to interpret and remix DNA into audiovisual or interactive works
Experiences for both virtual and physical environments
The work presented here represents just the beginning of our exploration into translating DNA's sonic possibilities across different contexts and mediums.
