Sunday 11 January 2009

AMBIVALENT KNITWEAR.


Louise and I went to the Science Museum today.  
We were fascinated to find this - a jumper made from the fleece of Dolly the sheep.
Dolly, a ewe (July 5, 1996 - February 14th 2003) was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. The cell used as the donor, was taken from a mammary gland and the production of a healthy clone therefore proved that a cell taken from a specific body part could recreate a whole individual. As Dolly was cloned from part of a mammary gland, she was named after Dolly Parton. 
But the big question that Louise and I had was; "What were they thinking when they designed this jumper?" It is not easy to see the design, because of the way is is rather nervously displayed. The arms are hiding the front, and we can't see the collar, but it does make a good cover for that machine. . 
There could be a clue in the caption above, which reads, "artefacts displayed here are symbols of ambivalence. This is neither utopia nor dystopia. It is the modern world."
Wierd...