Event 4 (Extra Credit): HOX ZODIAC: SNAKE!!!

As an extra-credit event, I decided to attend the “HOX ZODIAC: SNAKE!!!” talk, featuring Carolyn CC Hart, Lucie Strecker and Amir Baradaran. The HOX Zodiac is a collaborative project between the arts - advocated by Vesna - and the sciences - endorsed by Siddarth Ramakrishnan. The project involves discussion surrounding different animals from the Chinese zodiac as a representation of the plethora of shapes producible by HOX genes (Vesna and Ramakrishnan). This week’s animal was snakes.

Figure 1. Proof of attendance.

Before I begin, I will admit that I do not believe in zodiac signs. However, after watching this presentation, my perspective has somewhat changed. In retrospect, this incredulity stems from the common use of “zodiac” to depict the signs used to predict the future, and the fact that astronomy isn’t scientifically supported. Yet, I believe this presentation gave me much-needed clarification that zodiacs aren’t necessarily in reference to astronomy; zodiacs here are presented as an association between each of us and the animals we are assigned.

Figure 2. Victoria Vesna and colleagues, The HOX Zodiac, 2022.

Of the three presenters, Amir Baradaran’s presentation was the most fascinating in my opinion. Mr. Baradan - an artist and professor at Columbia - uses eXtended Reality (xR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) to tell stories. Inspired by the life cycle of a snake, specifically the shedding, and how it represents new life. Mr. Baradan goes on to give a brief introduction to snakes in “Zahhak” Persian folklore and how snakes were somewhat representative of devil-worshipping, and connects this to the death penalty in the modern-day.

Figure 3. Amir Baradaran, Zahhak, 2022.

It’s quite shocking to see the different representations of the snake; in some cultures, snakes are a boon whereas, in others, snakes are a bane. However, the latter is likely more prominent given that so many people are afraid of snakes. Personally, my experience watching Steve Irwin and Austin Stevens catch, save and even milk hundreds of snakes has made me more so beguiled by these animals. Nevertheless, awareness needs to be made about the true beauty of snakes and their meaning relative to us as humans, and I think art can be the tool through which this is achieved.

Works Cited

Baradaran, Amir. "HOX ZODIAC: SNAKE!!!." Building Bridges, uploaded by Art | Sci Center, 22 Apr. 2022, https://vimeo.com/703827095

Burrough, Xtine, and Judy Walgren. Art as Social Practice: Technologies for Change. Routledge, 2022.

Hart, Carolyn. “The Snake Inside Us Youtube.” Youtube, uploaded by CC Hart artist + author + neurodiversity advocate, 20 Apr. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jipv_1WD_yQ

Peterson, Sara. Year of the Snake: Chinese Zodiac Guide (2022 Updated). Toynk Toys, 27 Feb. 2022, https://www.toynk.com/blogs/news/year-of-the-snake.

Sadegh Davari, Mohammad. “Serpent King Zahhak, a Reality or a Myth? Theorysfields of Literature and Archeology.” Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, https://doi.org/10.32474/jaas.2020.02.000130.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine pt1." Lecture. Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk.

Vesna, Victoria, and Siddharth Ramakrishnan. “Patterns, Bodies and Metamorphosis: The Hox Zodiac.” Technoetic Arts, vol. 10, no. 2, 2012, pp. 197–206., https://doi.org/10.1386/tear.10.2-3.197_1.

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