(One Colorado Mall, Old Town Pasadena, CA.\u00a0 1998)<\/p>\n
Gene Genies Worldwide\u00a9\u2122, a collaboration between Tran, T. Kim-Trang and Karl Mihail was first realized as a public art installation. The nature of the installation was a conceptual retail space for a fictitious company offering services and products to custom design our clients\u2019 genetic codes in order to enhance and augment their personalities.\u00a0 The boutique, which was to be \u201copening soon\u201d in a high-end retail shopping mall, engaged with the viewing public in a discussion of several interrelated issues:\u00a0 genetic engineering, consumer culture, late capitalism, public space, and the role of art in society at large.\u00a0 The installation was successful in raising consciousness by offering an imagined future scenario; initiating an ongoing dialogue; and subverting its context by exploiting the high-end retail atmosphere.\u00a0 The installation spoke of the commercialization of science, technology, and the free market where the limit does not end with either our food supply or our very physical make-up.\u00a0 The mall was also in the vicinity of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, as well as the Art Center College of Design, whose members were included in the audience.<\/p>\n\n\t\t