I can’t forget, 2001
This work exists under two forms : a limited series of serigraphies in world format, and an unlimited one which is distributed for free in exhibition spaces and used for advertising campaigns.
The posters present the complete genetic sequence of the smallpox virus, composed of 185578 «letters». The words «stil life» are printed as a transparent skin over the sequence.
Smallpox has killed more than a hundred billion people. There is no treatment against this virus, and the only effective solution is vaccination. According to the World Health Organization, the illness has been eradicated since the late 1970s. There are only two strains remaining, kept in military labs in Russia and the US respectively. However, the DNA sequence is freely available on the web and in specialized libraries all over the world. In the light of modern technological evolution, access to this information could allow the reactivation of the virus. « I can’t forget, but I don’t remember what », Leonard Cohen.