As part of “Laboratory Life”, a project curated by The Arts Catalyst, Lighthouse and Andy Gracie, Anna Dumitriu led a group of artists, doctors and scientists to create “Infective Textiles” (2011) a textile-based artwork taking the form of a Regency style dress stained with bacterial pigments and patterned by antibiotics. This was her first major work which combined growing bacteria and antimicrobial substances including natural dyes in her work. The project work used ‘garage’ or ‘kitchen’ science methods and ‘DIY’ microbiological processes to explore the notion of infection control.
During the lab they cultured microbes from the local environment including soil, buildings and other public places. They then stained silk thread with natural and clinical antibiotics – including cloves, turmeric, green tea and Vancomycin – and used them to create embroidered patterns (based on microscopic images of bacteria and historic Regency designs) on fabric.
The dress was then placed in a ‘giant petri dish’ filled with DIY culture media made from supermarket products, upon which environmental bacteria, selected on the basis of the attractive natural pigments they were producing (burnt oranges, rose pinks etc), were grown. Their exhibition featured the Regency style dress, which was been pasteurised so that the bacteria are no longer living, video documentation of their project, framed works (which show slides of cultured bacteria and moulds, Gram’s stain paintings embroidered with antibiotic threads and drawings made by visitors to the lab) and a table of items used in their lab.
The Infective Textiles project was led by Anna Dumitriu and created in collaboration with Dr Melissa Grant, Dr Brian Degger, Dr Rosie Sedgwick and Sarah Roberts. Thanks to Professor John Paul, Dr James Price and Alex May for their invaluable assistance and inspiration with this project.
Exhibitions
Laboratory Life: an art-science production laboratory & exhibition, February and March 2011, Lighthouse, 28 Kensington St, Brighton BN1 4AJ as part of Brighton Science Festival.
“Art and Medicine” at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in May 2011.
“Laboratory Life”, as part of “Alchemy” at The Microwave Festival in Hong Kong, China, October – November 2011
“Transitions: Knowledge Through Performance in Art and Science”, The Institute for Advanced Study, Delmenhorst, Germany, October 2012, curated by Timothy J Senior.
“Gone Viral: Medical Science in Contemporary Textile Art”, The Rockefeller Arts Centre, State University of New York, New York, March 2013, curated Leesa Rittelmann.
“Hybrid Skins” at TETEM, Enschede, Netherlands, October-November 2013, curated by Melissa Coleman. Image above copyright Cyril Wermers.
“BioArt Seoul 2015” at the Gwacheon National Science Museum, Seoul, South Korea, November 2015, curated by Art Clay.
“Art and Infectious Disease” for the Healthcare Infection Society’s 40th Anniversary Event, British Medical Association, London, UK, 19th and 20th May 2022.
BioArt Revolution/ Revoluția BioArt, an innovative solo exhibition by Anna Dumitriu which brought together contemporary artistic approaches and modern scientific experiments to address issues of global relevance such as infection, climate change, and diversity. The show was part of Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture, from 30th September to 1st October 2023. The exhibition, which was created in collaboration with the Romanian Science Festival, took place in the stunning setting of Bastionul Maria Theresia, Galeria 2, Str. Hector, nr. 1, Timișoara, Romania.
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