[micro]biologies
I: the bacterial sublime
- Anna Dumitriu // 27 September - 30 November, 2014

Anna Dumitriu - 'Communicating Bacteria'
Vernissage/
Opening: 26 September, 2014, 8PM
Exhibition runs : 27 September 30 November, 2014
Opening
hours: Fri-Sun, 14-18h and by appointment. Open
31 October until 9PM
Sunday 28 September, 3PM
- Artist talk
Sunday 30 November - Workshop with the artist
The
third exhibition of the series [macro]biologies & [micro]biologies
will be a solo retrospective of British artist Anna Dumitriu,
whose work in the field of art and science brings together historical
narratives, cutting edge biomedical research and an interest in
ethical concerns.
Dumitriu
is well known for creating The VRSA Dress & and The
MRSA Quilt which were made from so-called 'superbugs'. To create
those works she grew bacteria onto textiles and used natural and
clinical antibiotics to create patterns (sterilised prior to exhibition).
"Normal
flora" is the study of the ubiquitous bacteria, moulds and
yeasts that form a key part of the complex ecosystems around us:
our bodies, our homes, and the wider planet. Bed and Chair Flora
comprises a carved and altered chair with images of the bacteria
that were originally cultured from it. The collaborative crochet
is based on electron microscope images of bacteria from the artists
own bed.
Bacteria
have intricate communication capabilities, which are now being investigated
as a form of social intelligence. To explore this The Communicating
Bacteria Dress combines bioart, historical textile techniques,
such as whitework embroidery, and 3D mapped video projections. The
work was created by staining textiles using pigmented bacteria change
colour when they send and receive communication signals.
The
exhibition will also include works from her series The Romantic
Disease: An Artistic Investigation of Tuberculosis which explores
the history of tuberculosis (TB) from artistic, social and scientific
perspectives and covers subjects such as superstitions about the
disease, TB's literary and romantic associations, the development
of antibiotics and the latest research into whole-genome sequencing
of mycobacteria. Dumitriu has worked with researchers from the
Modernising Medical Microbiology Project to create a significant
new body of work around this clinically and culturally significant
disease.
Anna
Dumitriu is currently Artist in Residence on the Modernising Medical
Microbiology Project at The University of Oxford and Visiting Research
Fellow: Artist in Residence at the University of Hertfordshire.
www.normalflora.co.uk
Art
Laboratory Berlin. Kunst aus Kleinstlebewesen by Sabrina Waffenschmidt,
Zitty Berlin, published on 30 October, 2014
Colour me unusuala MRSA quilt and a TB dress by
Margaret Cooter, The
BMJ (The British Medical Journal blog) published on 24 Octobe,r
2014
Schöne Bakterienwelt von Birgit Rieger, Tagesspiegel,
published on 25 September, 2014
Where
there´s dust there´s danger by Carola Hartlieb-Kühn,
art-in-berlin, published on 1 Oktober, 2014
[micro]biologies
I: the bacterial sublime. Anna Dumitriu, Art Laboratory Berlin by
Rowena Fuß, Portal Kunstgeschichte, published on 1 October,
2014
Kunst
mit Kleinstlebewesen: Anna Dumitriu im Art Laboratory Berlin by
Martina John, gallerytalk.net, published on 26 September, 2014
Made
possible through the support of:

Media partner:

Exhibition
view with Bed and Chair Flora (l) and Communicating
Bacteria Dress (r)

Communicating
Bacteria Dress (detail)

MRSA
Quilt

Exhibition
view with works from the series The Romantic Disease: An Artistic
Investigation of Tuberculosis
Exhibition
view with works from the series The Romantic Disease: An Artistic
Investigation of Tuberculosis
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