Subtitled Exchanges in Art & Biotechnologies, this exhibition at the Royal Institution, London, uses contemporary art to address questions of cloning, bio-design, genetic manipulation and more.
Our identity was based around a contrast of materials, questioning what is natural and what is artificial. The catalogue comes in a skin-like embossed slipcase, with the inside cover featuring photography of lettering cut in clear perspex, suggesting scientific lab environments, on the same skin-like paper. The perspex is used for real in the exhibition signage, laser-cut with the artists' names. A simple logo links the double-s in Crossing to suggest cloning and cross-breeding.
The catalogue features photography of the empty spaces in the historic building by Thierry Bal and work-in-progress shots of the seven artists' work. Also collected in the slipcase is a 16-page booklet showing the final pieces in full colour. This solved the problem of the main catalogue being needed before the artworks were ready to be documented, and was produced at the last minute before the private view.