UC Davis’ Consilience of Art and Science Speaker Series is bringing Alba's creator to town to give a lecture titled "Telepresence and Bio Art."

Alba is the “GFP Bunny,” commissioned from a lab by Eduardo Kac. His Web site describes Alba as transgenic art, “based on the use of genetic engineering to transfer natural or synthetic genes to an organism, to create unique living beings.”

“This must be done with great care, with acknowledgment of the complex issues thus raised and, above all, with a commitment to respect, nurture and love the life thus created.”

Alba was bred with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) of the jellyfish Aequorea victoria­ — making Alba a green-glowing rabbit (under special lighting) instead of her all-white albino self.

“Alba is undoubtedly a very special animal, but I want to be clear that her formal and genetic uniqueness are but one component of the ‘GFP Bunny’ artwork,” Kac declared on his Web site.

“The ‘GFP Bunny’ project is a complex social event,” he continued. One essential element: ongoing dialogue between professionals of several disciplines (art, science, philosophy, law, communications, literature, social sciences) and the public on cultural and ethical implications of genetic engineering.

Kac’s talk, presented by the university’s Art-Science Fusion Program, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 5 at the Veterans Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St., Davis, with admission free and open to the public.

Afterward, Kac plans to autograph copies of his book Telepresence & Bio Art — Networking Humans, Rabbits & Robots.

JURIED ART SHOW

The UC Davis Art-Science Fusion Program is presenting a juried exhibition, Creative Expression of the Connections Between Art and Science, from March 10 to April 12 at the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis. The gallery is co-sponsoring the show.

A reception and awards ceremony are planned at 7 p.m. March 13, with early admission at 6 p.m. for gallery members.