
The HOX gene is present and works on every living creature – from a snail to an elephant and we use the Chinese zodiac as the framework. This project has evolved into a participatory Dinner where the audience is invited to think about themselves as animals. The Hox Zodiac brings forth to the consciousness the commonality that we share with the animals around us.
This idea relates to both the wild animals and those commonly used in experimentation, showing that despite all the differences our human form is as similar to that of a goat or a tiger – the coded entities making our foot, also codes for a pig hoof or a chicken leg, and a mouse eye is similar to the snakes and to us. The Hox Zodiac allows people to relate to each other on various levels as humans sharing similar body designs, assuming animal persona and shapes, and also as creators of mutant creatures, thereby playing the role of scientists in labs. We seek to expand this to how the animal you are related to is used in laboratories, in food, and in relation to other beings.
Read more about Hox genes:
Hox Genes in Development: The Hox Code
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/hox-genes-in-development-the-hox-code-41402
Homeotic Genes and Body Patterns
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/variation/hoxgenes/