IDENTITY - Black Box Pop-up Cinema

Black Box is a joint project by The Cultural Negotiation of Science (CNoS) at Northumbria University and the Institute of Genetic Medicine (IGM) at Newcastle University, curated by Louise Mackenzie. Opening the door on the inner workings of genetic research, Black Box is a FREE pop-up cinema located in the IGM West Wing foyer showing a programme of creative film works inspired by and expanding upon genetic themes.

The Black Box pop-up cinema will feature 4 themed weeks, each screening a short (60-90min) reel of 5-10min movies. The themes have been inspired by the issues and topics in genetic research and are:

4th-8th February – FUTURE
11th-15th February – IDENTITY
18th-22nd February – LIFE
25th February – 1st March – KINSHIP

IDENTITY 18TH-22RD FEBRUARY 2019 10AM-5:30PM
BLACK BOX – IDENTITY WEEK

Show times 10:00 | 11:30 | 13:00 | 14:30 | 16:00
Total Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Does identity begin with the body? What role does genetics play in understanding who we are? How has technology changed our sense of identity?

​In IDENTITY week, we look at the relationships between mind, body and society in exploring who we are.

In IDENTITY week, we explore how science and art engage with the body and with our sense of self. In IDENTITY I we ask whether there is room for identity in understanding and treating patients through Borland’s Answering Anatomy and SimWoman, The Unsolved Case by Marianne Wilde and an excerpt from Beverley Hood’s Eidolon. In IDENTITY II, we focus on genetic identity and consent through excerpts from stage performance of HeLa by Adura Onashile and post-show discussion. The question of who owns our genetic identity continues with Aleks Cicha’s Bioflaneur, Heather Dewey-Hagborg’s DNA Spoofing and Alexey Marfin’s Blue Eyed Me. In IDENTITY III the loss of identity is explored, through a filmic account of Alzheimer’s Disease in Interrupt Cycle, the detached technological body in Beverley Hood’s Madame I, Daksha Patel’s All of A Sudden Something Popped and Lilian Mehrel’s, Air (verb). IDENTITY IV then asserts identity through embracing the limitations of the body in Nicholas McCarthy’s Me and My Left Hand, performance artist Stelarc’s, The Body is Obsolete and an empowering dance sequence from bionic artist, Viktoria Modesta in Prototype.