Seven minutes

The Pyrenean ibex species officially went extinct with the death of its last individual, Celia, in 2000. However, cells taken and frozen before her death allowed for the first "de- extinction" attempt in history. As a result of cloning efforts using these cells, a surrogate mother goat gave birth to a genetic copy of Celia in 2009. Unfortunately, the cloned offspring lived for only seven minutes due to a severe developmental defect in its lungs and became extinct again. This brief return of Celia went down in history as the first and only moment an extinct species was brought back to life.

Only one photograph remains of the lifeless body of Celia’s clone, the Pyrenean ibex, which survived for just seven minutes. In this work, I recreated that dead body from the photograph in exact scale using wool and steel, in a kind of artistic cloning act. However, unlike the passive body lying in the laboratory setting of the original photo, the artwork is propped upright with brass supports. Exhibited in a taxidermy display case, this figure thus transforms from a lifeless copy into a tragically reanimated monument. The bitten apple in front of it is a dual symbol: it refers both to Snow White’s deceptive and poisonous apple, and to Adam and Eve’s forbidden fruit that brought knowledge and the end of innocence. The figures standing on the bite mark on the apple represent the scientists who are the perpetrators of this modern creation story.

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Seven Minutes, 2025, 140x63x33cm, wool, brass, wood, steel, modelling materials, glass.

Photo credit for installation shots: Nazli Erdemirel