Veil of Nature / Processing Process

Endemic to the Galapagos Islands, Sicyos villosus was collected by Charles Darwin during his journey on the Beagle between 1831 and 1836, but it is now extinct. After reading that a group of contemporary scientists were hoping to de-extinct Sicyos villosus using biotechnologies, Justine Blau began to investigate what it means to bring a species back to life. She undertook a journey to understand the desire for de-extinction and just what it was that science was now trying to save. Through her encounters with researchers and scientists in herbaria and seed banks, as well as her travels to the Galapagos, she uncovered a matrix of contradictions that radically challenge the modern scientific conservation complex.