Eduardo Kac

When Eduardo Kac presented Alba to the world in the early 2000s, the reaction was immediate and global: fascination, outrage, philosophical debate. Alba is an albino rabbit whose genome was modified to include GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein), a protein extracted from the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. Under ultraviolet light, Alba glows a spectral green. She is alive, she is real, and she is a work of art.

The exhibition GFP Bunny at Galerie Charlot does not merely document this iconic creation: it unfolds the entire project in its social and philosophical dimension, as Kac conceived it. For him, GFP Bunny comprises three inseparable parts: the creation of the animal, the public debate this creation generates, and Alba’s social integration into a human family. This third part — the most radical — could never be realised, as the French authorities prevented Kac from taking Alba home after her creation in the laboratory. The exhibition retraces this story and opens up the questions it still raises: where does the work of art begin and end? What are the artist’s responsibilities towards the life he creates? What is life in the age of biotechnology?

Galerie Charlot presents a solo exhibition by Eduardo Kac centred on the transgenic artwork “GFP Bunny”, created by the artist in the 2000s. The artwork “GFP Bunny” comprises the creation of a fluorescent rabbit (Alba), the public dialogue generated by the project and the social integration of the rabbit. GFP stands for “Green Fluorescent Protein”.

“Alba” was an albino rabbit. She was created with EGFP, a synthetic mutation of the original wild-type green fluorescent gene found in the jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. Since Alba had no skin pigment, under ordinary environmental conditions she was completely white with pink eyes. She only glowed fluorescent green when illuminated with a specific light.

On the occasion of the exhibition “La Fabrique du vivant” at the Centre Pompidou, which features works by the artist Eduardo Kac, Galerie Charlot pays tribute to this artistic adventure, which has been cited and reappropriated countless times in both popular and academic culture.