Anna Dumitriu Blog

3rd March 2020

Anna Dumitriu has been working with Dr Carol Verheecke-Vaessen and the Applied Mycology Group at Cranfield University to develop and create an innovative new body of artworks around the theme of “Mysteries and Mycotoxins”. The project takes the form of an artistic exploration of mycotoxins and aims to raise awareness of their significant impact on […]

31st August 2023

Wood Spirit – Amber Acid (2023) is a commission in the “Fermenting Futures” series that takes the form of a sculptural necklace which tells the story of cutting-edge biotechnology research to produce sustainable carbon neutral nylon fabric via a yeast known as Pichia pastoris that has been modified to be able to feed on a […]

27th March 2020

“Shielding” explores the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on women facing domestic abuse and the paradoxical meaning of home as shelter. News stories around the world have highlighted the significant upsurge in violence and the need for increased support for victims of abuse from both governments and the charity sector, at a time when support […]

31st March 2020

“Biotechnology from the Blue Flower” by Anna Dumitriu and Alex May explores the cultural history and morphology of the chicory plant and investigates how new plant breeding methods such as CRISPR gene editing can be used to create future healthcare and food benefits. Chicory inspired the idea of the Blue Flower in German Romanticism, and […]

3rd March 2020

Bacterial Baptism (2022) is based on a vintage christening gown which has been altered by the artist to tell the story of research into how the microbiomes of babies develop, with a focus on the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, originally discovered by Hall and O’Toole in 1935 and presented in their paper “Intestinal flora in new-born […]

14th March 2020

The Syphilis Dress (2023) stems from a collaboration with Dr Linda Grillova, George Lacey, MSc, and Professor Nicholas Thomson exploring the history and future of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, known as ‘The Great Pox’. The dress is embroidered with images of the bacterium observed in the laboratory and those embroideries […]

14th March 2020

“Cholera Dress” (2023) comprises an altered antique 1850s bodice and skirt, as might have been worn by female sex workers who used the water pump in Broad Street in London during the 1854 cholera epidemic. John Snow famously removed the handle of the pump after tracing it as the cause of the outbreak. This pivotal […]

14th March 2020

Linen is the original biotextile and it is produced through the interaction of plants, bacteria and engineering. As such, it has been used frequently in Dumitriu’s work as a metaphor for biotechnology and also as a means of exploring the relationship of environmental microbiology and infectious disease. Works in the series incorporate a range of […]

3rd March 2020

“aDNA” (2022) takes the form of a contemporary animal bone which has been carved with textures that explore the processes of bioarchaeology and of infection with bovine tuberculosis, a zoonotic disease that can be transferred to humans from livestock. The carvings are impregnated with a piece of ancient DNA (aDNA), known as an insertion element, […]

27th March 2020

“Susceptible” is a data-driven interactive digital artwork by Anna Dumitriu and Alex May based on cutting-edge research from CRyPTIC, an international consortium led by the University of Oxford. CRyPTIC’s research analysed thousands of images of the tuberculosis (TB) bacteria growing in the presence of different antibiotics. Researchers then combined that data with information about the […]