Name: Anna Dumitriu
Which came first in your life, the science or the art?
I trained originally in fine art but have created my artwork embedded in laboratories, working hands on for many years.
Which sciences relate to your art practice?
I am primarily focused on microbiology, specifically infectious diseases, genomics, and synthetic biology with a healthcare focus.
Microbe Mouth
Microbe Mouth at Mouthy Launch (image credit – science gallery london)
Engineered Antibody
“Bacteria Votives” (Image credit Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
What materials do you use to create your artworks?
I work with the tools and techniques of microbiology, live bacteria, antibiotics, DNA, amino acids, and synbio combined with altered antique objects and traditional craft techniques such a dyeing and embroidery.
Artwork/Exhibition you are most proud of:
Creating a body of work is a journey for me. I tend to continue with projects on an ongoing basis and develop them continiously. Projects such as The Romantic Disease, Engineered Antibody, The MRSA Quilt, Don’t Try This At Home and Super-organism are all very important to me, especially my work with The University of Oxford (GBR), The Wellcome Trust Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research (GBR), The University of Hertfordshire (GBR) and The Liu Lab for Synthetic Evolution at University of California Irvine (USA). I am also developing new works currently such as my residency with MRG-Grammar around gene regulation (funded by the EU H2020 FET programme) and Microbe Mouth commissioned by The Science Gallery London. I’ve been honoured to exhibit at venues worldwide including such as The Picasso Museum in Barcelona (ESP), Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art (TWN) , The Beall Center for Art & Technology (USA), The Rockefeller Arts Centre (USA), The Wellcome Collection (GBR), and ZKM (DEU).
The MRSA Quilt
Pneumothorax Machine
Which scientists and/or artists inspire and/or have influenced you?
The scientists I work with are my muses: Dr John Paul, Professor Derrick Crook, Professor Tim Peto, Dr Nicola Fawcett, Kevin Cole, Dr James Price, Dr Jane Freeman, Dr Caroline Chilton, Dr Melissa Grant, Dr Rachel Sammons, Xiang Li, Dr Chang Liu, Dr Felix Grun, and many others. I enjoy my discussions with my occasional art collaborator Alex May and my many peers in the art community.
Where There’s Dust There’s Danger
Is there anything else you want to tell us?
You can find out more about my work and ideas on my website.
Artist links: Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook
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