HATCHERY, INC.

Identity / Packaging

Does perfection exist? This is difficult to determine as our perception of perfection is constantly evolving. Standards of perfection are frequently set and reset in so many aspects of life: performance, looks, academics, careers, or technology. It is more easily said that the pursuit of perfection has become an obsession. For parents the desire for the “perfect child” is no longer a daydream. Breakthroughs in genetics and bioengineering have made human traits items on a shopping list. Genetic manipulation now has the potential to determine sex, height and other traits. These developments support aspirations to remake nature, allowing parents to design their own child. This project is designed to reflect the moral dilemma I find among these advancements. I want to warn my audience of the threat this holds to banish our appreciation of life. In response to society’s pursuit of perfection, I challenged myself to develop a system in which perfection seems possible but is never attainable. The strangeness of this project is intentional in order to force the viewer to questions their own perceptions of perfection and the immorality of non-medical genetic manipulation

Hatchery, Inc. is a baby bioengineering corporation that feeds a parent’s longing to “play God” and sells the medical procedure as a deluxe shopping experience. Hatchery allows parents to design their “perfect” child through many variables. The Genesis Collection is the premium package that includes hair, skin, and eye color swatch books, the genetic code index, and order form. Aside from hair, eye, and skin color, parents may also choose height, weight, date of birth, life expectancy, sexual orientation, and degree of gender. The complexity of the Hatchery experience is within procedural health risks. The more specific a child is designed, the higher they are at risk of genetic mutations that lead to disease.