NATASCHA NANJI

Performed at URBANEK Gallery, London on October 12, 2019 CRISPR, Ethics, Circles of Trust In this storytelling performance I gave a brief explanation of the gene editing tool CRISPR and then went on to describe the events that took place in November 2018 after Professor He Jiankui reported the birth of the two babies whose embryonic genes had been altered using the CRISPR tool. Following the announcement, the majority of the scientific community branded Professor He as a ‘rogue’ scientist who had been working in isolation. In retaliation to the claim, He’s press officer said Professor He had in fact informed approximately 60 scientists of the work he was doing, and called this He’s ‘circle of trust’.To illustrate the ‘circle of trust’ I extracted the key scientists named by Professor He. their connections and interests within and outside of the so-called ‘circle of trust’. Using index cards I created a physical circle of networked relationships. The performance process evoked Bruno Latour’s actor network theory to encourage dialogue and generate a agency for listeners.made with Lay Theme