Guardian and the Guarded (WIP)

This ongoing project stages a tension between two forms of guardianship: the Chinese zodiac mouse as a spiritual protector, and the laboratory mouse, abstracted into forms of tissues, cells, and data, as an anonymous contributor to human health. A wearable incubator in this work houses a mouse-shaped pendant made of mouse myoblast cells. By wearing it close to the skin, I become part of the incubator and sustain the living “mouse” through my warmth and breath. The embodied care becomes an entry point for reimaging reversed guardianship.

Guardian and the Guarded (WIP), PLA mold and PDMS mold