Artwork, entitled 'Disclosure Case' (part of the Genetic Heirloom Project series), by artist Revital Cohen, London, 2009-2010

Is knowledge always a good thing? Using this speculative object, artist Revital Cohen encourages us to think about the complexities of genetic screening and knowledge. Modelled on Pandora’s box, it is imagined as preserving a person’s right not to know about their genetic inheritance. One would have the choice to open the box and find out or to not open it. The gold in the artwork evokes physical and material things which can be inherited, but the artwork invites us to also consider our genetic inheritance and legacy.

Revital Cohen worked with scientists and bioethicists while developing this work, stating that “I consider the life sciences to be a powerful catalyst for artistic expression as they present new sets of values, ethics and behaviours”.