'The specks remind me of stars in the galaxy,' says Tal Danino, admiring a dinner plate dotted with what appear to be celestial bodies. 'This really interesting pattern in the centre, that's Salmonella!' Danino is a biological engineer who has collaborated with Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and luxury porcelain brand Bernardaud to take a group of photogenic bacterial species from agar to porcelain.
The project began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Danino is a postdoctoral fellow researching ways to program bacteria for different uses, such as detecting and treating cancer. 'At MIT they have amazing toys to play with our ideas of how we perceive the world,' says Muniz, who completed a residency at the university in 2013.
Muniz proposed the concept of 'drawing with little bugs' to Danino and soon the two were creating intricate patterns out of liver cells and cervical cancer cells. 'They look like your grandmother's wallpaper, and then you look closer and you see every nucleus of every cell,' says Muniz, who has previously worked with materials ranging from chocolate and diamonds to rubbish and clouds.
Working with petri dishes, also known as bacterial plates, got Muniz thinking about the real thing. 'Vic said let's make some real plates out of bacteria,' explains Danino. Salmonella was always part of the plan ('perfect for chicken,' notes Muniz), but the stars of the Bernardaud 'petri' collection also include other species, 'mostly bacillus,' adds Danino.
The colourful images that fill the seven porcelain plates began as ten-centimeter-wide petri dishes, each filled with translucent, nutrient-infused agar and dotted with a drop of bacteria in the centre. 'They grow outward, protruding themselves, pushing back their neighbours, eating up the food, and forming these very intricate patterns,' Danino illustrates.
'Sometimes we look at abstraction and all we see are beautiful patterns and colours, but these are abstractions that tell a story,' says Muniz. 'Imagine having a dinner party. Your guests finish their food and admire the image on the plate, and then you tell them it's Salmonella!'
Muniz and Danino started by producing intricate patterns out of liver cells and cervical cancer cells on petri dishes at MIT. Pictured here: 'Chiral Jam'
The natural designs of the bacteria inspired them to create real plates with the photographed bacteria. Pictured here: 'Tepid Tip-Splitters'
The porcelain plates show the bacteria's growth quality, spreading and forming accidental artful patterns. Pictured here: 'Tip-Splitting Morphotype'
Seven plates were manufactured boasting strong beautiful colours. Pictured here: 'Bacteria Chirality'
'Sometimes we look at abstraction and all we see are beautiful patterns and colors, but these are abstractions that tell a story,' says Muniz. Pictured here: Chiral Colony
The full collection is on show during showing during Frieze New York. Pictured here: Soft Splitting Bacteria
ADDRESS
Bernardaud Boutique
499 Park Avenue
New York
10022
-
A new Texas house transforms a sloping plot into a multi-layered family homeThe Griggs Residence is a Texas house that shields its interior world and spacious terraces with a stone and steel façade
-
The making of Loro Piana’s magical festive Harrods takeover, ‘The Workshop of Wonders’Celebrating 100 years of Loro Piana, the Italian house has taken over Harrods in time for the festive season, spanning 36 transporting windows, two pop-ups and a raft of one-of-a-kind products which embrace the spirit of giving
-
Radical modernity: Kim Jones on curating Charleston for Sotheby'sAs the newly appointed vice president of Charleston, Jones is curating a two-part selling and loan exhibition at Sotheby’s, ‘Radical Modernity: From Bloomsbury to Charleston’
