Pathogen Art

What some people will do for art! Anna Dumitriu is a UK artist who creates works of art out of clothing and textiles exposed to deadly pathogenic bacteria. However, she "takes pains to tell exhibition-goers that she kills all of the potentially-dangerous bacteria through heat sterilization" before putting it on display. In order to avoid infecting herself she does some of her work (the stuff that involves the most deadly pathogens) in a "custom-built biosecure container."

Below is her VRSA Dress. It's been exposed to Vancomycin-resistant strains of the Staph bacteria. More details at smithsonianmag.com.

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Mon Feb 17, 2014
Category: Art

Comments

This gives literal meaning to "dressed to kill".

Posted by KDP on 02/17/14 at 09:06 AM

Hay! As long as the children aren't allowed to play with balls it should be safe to travel to the UK.

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/17/14 at 10:39 AM

All that work and risk and It doesn't even make pretty colors! :lol: :coolsmile:

Posted by Tyrusguy on 02/17/14 at 11:13 AM

Stupid to play with that stuff other than for medical research. I am surprised she is able to get the samples to use.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/17/14 at 09:45 PM

@Patty: I bet she doesn't have access to anything but the common cold. It's just supposed to make you think. Isn't that what artists say art is about?

Posted by Sebastian on 02/17/14 at 11:02 PM

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