From Creatures to Creators
McGill 2004 Bioethics Exhibition

Humans have always sought to transform their environment in order to improve their way of life. As the environment has become more controlled, humans have turned themselves towards the next challenge: transform the human body. This “new age” can be seen with the explosion of esthetical surgeries, diets and new philosophies of life like feng shui. With the advent of new genetic and reproductive technologies, humans possess a new kind of power: the power to transform the living, to make it better. Hence, humans have shifted from just being creatures to become creators. The huge promises, but also the huge dangers associated with these new technologies have become a recurrent theme of discussion in the media and in society in general. One of the main concerns regarding these new technologies is the impact they will have on our perception of humanity.

The exhibition entitled “From Creatures to Creators” will be held in October 2004 at the McIntyre Medical Building, McGill University. Art works from students from three of Montreal’s universities, McGill University, Concordia University and Université de Montréal, will be exposed. They will integrate different media including fine arts, multimedia, literature and music. Additional information regarding four major bioethics issues, namely human cloning, stem cell use, genetic counselling and gene patenting will be given in the form of a press review. This press review will include articles from English and French newspapers from 1996 to now.

If art is truly the reflection of someone’s time, then this exhibition will help grasp the current state of bioethics awareness.

Biographies of Artists

Édouard Philippe

Vingt et un ans. Taille moyenne. Yeux. Bouche. Nez. - Mains. Écrit dès son enfance. Se découvre très vite un vif intérêt pour les arts. Littérature. Poésie. Figures de style. Métaphores. Premiers poèmes. Lauréat concours de nouvelles. Premières longues nouvelles. Découverte du théâtre à 15 ans. Passion pour la scène. Théâtre. Journal étudiant. Jeu. Écriture. Découverte de la danse à 16 ans. Troupe de théâtre. Deux ans. Premier recueil de poèmes. Danse. Troupe de danse. Jusqu'à présent. Université de Montréal. Études françaises. Dramaturgie. Journal départemental. Concours littéraire départemental. Voyage d'étude à Paris projeté pour 2004-2005. Spectacle total en construction 2005-2006.

Site internet : www.geocities.com/que_mon_coeur_lache/

Simone Rochon

Simone Rochon is a fine art student at Concordia University and utilises drawing, painting and lithography as media. She likes to think that her meticulous and organized lines will establish a sense of calmness and order in her art, where narration and symbols create a universe of strange events. Althought the colors, motifs and themes in her recent works are generally playful, the works often convey a bizarre feeling of apprehension or nostalgia.

Frederic Poirier

Frederic Poirier, multimedia, for examples of works see the following website. www.digitalewa.on.to

Ulgen Semerci

Ulgen Semerci was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1981. She graduated from St. Michel, a French high school. During this time, Semerci studied drawing in various artists' studios for seven years. In 2002, she moved to Montreal to study Painting & Drawing at Concordia University. Her artistic interests have focused on abstract expressionism. Concurrently, Semerci works towards developing a language close to the traditions of abstraction, yet expressed figuratively. Her drawings explore the necessities of composition, color and movement.