The Modular Body
Online science fiction story, 2016
Floris Kaayk (NL)
The Modular Body is an online science fiction story about the creation of OSCAR, a living organism built from human cells. The protagonist is Cornelis Vlasman, a versatile biologist for whom the path well-travelled is the most uninteresting one by definition. Together with a few like-minded people, he starts an independent laboratory in which he experiments with organic materials. The primitive, vulnerable organism that finally results from his endeavours is OSCAR. The prototype, in the size of a human hand, consists of clickable organ modules. OSCAR is kept alive with blood taken from Cornelis and is continually vaccinated against infections, as it has no immune system.
BIO
Floris was born in 1982 and is a Dutch digital artist. His work focuses on futuristic concepts and fantasies, and visualises technological progress, sometimes by demonstrating its advantages and at other times by presenting negative consequences. In 2014, Floris won the Volkskrant Visual Arts Prize for his animated films and semi-documentaries. In 2016, The Modular Body won a Golden Calf Award at the Netherlands Film Festival in the ‘Best Interactive Work’ category. In 2017, he received the de Witteveen+Bos Art+Technology award for his oeuvre so far. He lives in The Hague with his girlfriend and young son, working on his creations in an old shipbuilding shed purchased by an artists’ collective. In 2012, he was named ‘Creative City’ ambassador by the City of The Hague and in 2016, he was appointed Fellow of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht and Fellow of Next Nature Network.