Eduardo Kac
Rio de Janeiro, 1962.
Eduardo Kac explores bio art, telepresence and networks through works connecting living organisms, robotics and communication.
Artwork in the collection
Time Capsule, 1997
About the artwork
On 11 November 1997, at Casa das Rosas in São Paulo, Kac implanted a microchip in himself during an action broadcast on television and the internet. Family photographs taken before 1939 accompanied the gesture, connecting personal memory with digital storage. For its tenth anniversary, the work brought together the original performance elements and an interactive, telerobotic system for accessing the chip online.
Artwork in the collection
ADSUM
About the artwork
ADSUM is a glass cube measuring one centimetre on each side, containing a symbolic message. It travelled to the Moon aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost. Its title, meaning ‘I am here’, opens a reflection on presence, territory and our place in the universe. Connecting the lunar object with its presentation at ARCO, the work received the twentieth ARCO-BEEP Award in 2025, the first edition under the name NEWART Award ARCO.
Artwork in care
Ground-based Research 2 · 2014
About the artwork
C-print on archival paper, 50 × 75 cm. From the Inner Telescope series.
Artwork in care
Ground-based Research 7 · 2014
About the artwork
C-print on archival paper, 50 × 75 cm. From the Inner Telescope series.
Artwork in care
Lagoglyph Animation
About the artwork
Video animation on DVD from the Lagoglyphs series.
Artwork in care
Plantimal II
About the artwork
Lambda print on Dibond, 42 × 42 cm. Artist’s proof from the Plantimal Photos series.
Artwork in care
Plantimal photos — Diasec · 2009
About the artwork
Six lambda prints on Diasec, each 42 × 42 cm. The series documents Edunia, the plantimal created by Eduardo Kac.
Artwork in care
Plantimal photos — Prints · 2009
About the artwork
Six prints from the Plantimal series.
Artwork in care
Seed pack studies
About the artwork
A group of nine lithographs.
Artwork in care
The New Face of the Animal
About the artwork
A series of lithographs.
Artwork in care
Aromapoetry · 2011
About the artwork
An artist’s book proposing a poetic experience through smell. Its compositions use scents rather than words.
Artwork in care
Mysterium Magnum
About the artwork
A group of six watercolours.
Artwork in care
Lagoglyphs — The Volcano Paintings
About the artwork
A group of six ink paintings on canvas.
Artwork in care
The Alba Flag
About the artwork
Printed flag.
Artwork in care
Move 36 · 2002–2004
About the artwork
A bioart installation combining chess, computation and a genetically modified plant to explore boundaries between the human and the non-human.
Artwork in care
Boulevard Alba
About the artwork
A group of eight metal plaques.
Artwork in care
Lagoglyph: The Bunny Vacations · 2009
About the artwork
Video from the Lagoglyphs series.
Artwork in care
Lagoglyphs: The Bunny Variations · 2007
About the artwork
A work from the Lagoglyphs series, exploring a rabbit-inspired visual writing system.
Artwork in care
Edunia
About the artwork
A plantimal created by Eduardo Kac: a genetically modified petunia incorporating the artist’s DNA. It is part of Natural History of the Enigma.
Artistic career: Eduardo Kac
Career and projects
Eduardo Kac is known for his work in telepresence and bio art. Since his telecommunications experiments in the 1980s, he has connected robotics, living organisms and networks to investigate memory, biotechnology and participation. Works including Genesis and GFP Bunny developed his concept of transgenic art. He has exhibited internationally, and his work is held in collections including Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, MoMA and ZKM. He received Ars Electronica’s Golden Nica and the first ARCO-BEEP Electronic Art Award for Time Capsule.