Biography

Jason Knight (born 1972, Innisfail, Alberta, Canada) is a Montreal-based artist, researcher and educator whose boundary pushing practice spans bioart, digital and traditional media; interweaving art, science, and critical theory to interrogate the intersections of technology, humanity, and societal power. Since adopting his birth name Jason Knight in 2007, the artist has emerged as a pioneering figure in contemporary art, known for provocative explorations of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, ecological survival, and the ethics of rational technologies.

Knight’s formal artistic journey began in the 1990s, rooted in a rigorous academic foundation. He earned a BFA in Studio Arts with a double major in Painting and Printmaking, and studies in Art History, Creative Writing (poetry) and Philosophy, from the University of Calgary (1997), where his early work demonstrated a penchant for experimental printmaking and conceptual inquiry into the human body via his drawings from medical cadavers.  His MFA in Visual Arts (with distinction) from York University (1999), under the guidance of Dr. Janet Jores, solidified his commitment to critical theory, focusing on post-Marxism and post-structuralism. His MFA thesis, Pills (tentative), a scathing critique of rational technologies’ role in cultural formation — exploring authority, control, repetition, addiction, and media — set the stage for his lifelong engagement with the societal implications of science and technology.

Since 1999, Knight, currently an Associate Professor in Studio Arts, has taught printmaking, digital print media and art theory at Concordia University in Montreal -- shaping, unfortunately, only a decade of artists through innovative curriculum development , laboratory design and mentorship of graduate students.  From their role as a founding member of Hexagram (founded 2002), in the research hub for advanced digital imaging and rapid prototyping, underscores his leadership in art-tek intersections, while his lab experiences — spanning Concordia’s Biological Sciences Department, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and international residencies like SymbioticA in Perth West Australia, and the Art and Genomics Centre in Leiden — equipped with the technical expertise to merge art and biomedical discourses fluidly.

Knight’s art practice is defined by its interdisciplinary scope and critical edge. A flagship project, BIOTEKNICA (2000–2009), co-founded with Dr. Jennifer Willet, revolutionized bioart by growing 3D organic tissue cultures in gallery settings, critiquing biotechnology’s commodification of life and its ethical ambiguities. Exhibited globally, in various forms — from Montreal to Prague, Barcelona, and San Jose — these installations, like BIOTEKNICA: Teratological Prototypes (2006), provoke visceral reactions to “monstrous” biological forms, challenging viewers to confront the boundaries of life and teratological aesthetics.

Similarly, Corpscellule | 6616 (2007–2011), co-founded with Dr. Fiona Annis, pushed further with co-cultures of silkworms and orchids, DNA modifications, and performance rituals, such as “Tulip Bombing” at the Reichstag and “Winter Solstice Rituals” in Orkney, Scotland, blending bio-scientific experimentation with socio-political critique.

One of several pivotal personal experiences occurred in 2007, when Knight was poisoned by a student (etcetera), profoundly (re)shaped art practice, and with significant damage to their body, lasting to the present day, intensifying his focus on mortality, vulnerability, and resilience. This event, followed by a 60-day confinement in a Montreal mental prison in 2010, and almost 4 weeks in actual prison, catalyzed a deeply introspective turn in his work. His drawings from this period completed while incarcerated — such as a reinterpretation of Honoré Daumier’s La Rue Transnonain (2010), depicting a fallen figure amid institutional violence, and a vanitas still life featuring a skull, flowers, and candles — channel this trauma into poignant meditations on life’s fragility and societal betrayal. These works, marked by meticulous crosshatching and symbolic detail, contrast with his bioart’s technological focus, revealing a versatile artist navigating personal and universal crises.

Knight’s notes — chaotic grids of handwritten ideas spanning AI, cyborg futures, ecological collapse, and global peace — reveal the breadth of their speculative vision. Phrases like “AWAKENING AN ANCIENT ALIEN AWARENESS,” “CYBORG BODY AS OUR FUTURE,” and “NON VIOLENCE - PEACE WE DO THIS FOREVER TOGETHER IN LOVE” encapsulate a restless inquiry into humanity’s technological and ethical horizons, often shared on digital platforms via "knight6616" social media presence.  Their 1996 intaglio print IMAGO, combining a photo-etched butterfly with photocopied text, exemplifies an early engagement with transformation and knowledge, foreshadowing his later bioart explorations.

With over 60 solo and group exhibitions since the early nineties — spanning Pills (tentative) at York University to Imagining Science at the Art Gallery of Alberta—Knight’s work has garnered international recognition, earning SSHRC and Canada Council grants and publication in seminal texts like Art + Science Now. His performances, from Glasgow to Berlin, and publications in journals like INTER Art Actuel and Anima, amplify his voice as a critic of authority and advocate for interdisciplinary dialogue.

As an educator and researcher, Knight has supervised numerous graduate theses, co-curated exhibitions like Psychic Surgery (2006), and contributed to academic discourse through scholarly writings on bioethics and digital aesthetics. His leadership in Montreal’s art scene, rooted in Concordia and Hexagram, positioned him as a mentor and innovator, influencing contemporary bioart and digital media worldwide.

Jason Knight’s practice is a testament to art’s power to heal, provoke, and reimagine. Through bioart installations, prints, drawings, and digital explorations, Knight confronts the complexities of a technologized world, drawing from personal trauma and global crises to forge a vision of hope, critique, and transformation.

Their artwork and writings stand as a beacon for those seeking to navigate the intersections of life, science, and society in the 21st century.