They Made a Meme Out of My Legacy

'They Made a Meme Out of My Legacy' is a solo exhibition by artist Henrik Haukeland that explores the possibilities of cloning, as seen through the lens of Barbra Streisand’s choice to clone her dog. The story is told through a variety of mediums, including hand-sewn textiles made of blankets and bed covers—materials that embody the domestic and echo the familiarity of the household pet.

The project raises questions of ethics and accessibility, as connected to the responsibility and influence of celebrities. What is a clone, and what are the pros and cons of cloning? Is the cloning of pets a step on the way towards cloning humans, and could Streisand’s example be part of the normalisation of cloning in society?

Henrik Haukeland (b. 1980) is a recent MFA graduate from the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden. Previous studies include the University of Bergen, Faculty of Fine Arts, in Norway, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR, U.S. Conceptually, he often deals with the body — both physical and social — as well as the corresponding ideas of consumption, excess, and transformation. He works with a wide range of different mediums, with textiles having become a particularly prominent part of his work in recent years.