Event Two

 May 12, 2021

Event Two: The Unnatural, That Too is Natural: Artistic Explorations in Synthetic Biology

    For my blog on Event Two, I chose to attend a live presentation given by Anna Dumitriu on her projects "Fermenting Futures" and Biotechnology From the Blue Flower." The event was hosted through Vimeo and was live-streamed to an audience of around 40 people. During the presentation, both Anna and Professor Vesna were presenting so it was sort of similar to lectures with our guest speakers. The presentation was around an hour and a half and was full of interesting concepts that related a lot to the things we are learning in class.

    At the beginning of the live stream, Anna mentions some background information about the topics she will be talking about. Her background is mainly focused on bacteria but for these projects, she is working with yeasts. In her project "Fermenting Futures," she incorporated yeast growths as well as technology to produce 3D prints of her findings. When experimenting with yeasts, Anna found that yeasts have very unique growing patterns. She removed the yeasts from the agar growing plates and preserves the natural appearance of the yeasts for her art. The use of a 3D printer combines technology, science, and art into a single piece of work, which was one of our topics in Professor Vesna's lectures. The use of synthetic biology using yeasts also leads to further explorations that involve the production of alcohol and bread in society. 

Example Picture of 3D Printer 

Picture of Anna Dumitriu's Art Installation 

    In Anna's other project "Biotechnology From the Blue Flower," she also incorporates 3D printing technology to create artwork surrounding the chicory plant. Using 3D scanning technology, Anna showed parts of the chicory plant root and the complexity surrounding it during her presentation. She also presented the idea of augmented reality when showing artwork that focused on genetically modified plants. Since these plants are restricted from leaving the lab, the use of augmented reality allows the public to see the beauty of these creations.

Picture of "Biotechnology From the Blue Flower" artwork

References:

“Biotechnology from the Blue Flower.” Anna Dumitriu, 22 Apr. 2021, annadumitriu.co.uk/portfolio/biotechnology-from-the-blue-flower/.

Center, Art|Sci. “Anna Dumitriu- The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo, 13 May 2021, vimeo.com/545309728. 

“EVO Additive Manufacturing Center.” Airwolf 3D, airwolf3d.com/shop/evo-r-school-3d-printer/.

“Fermenting Futures.” Anna Dumitriu, 16 Mar. 2021, annadumitriu.co.uk/portfolio/fermenting-futures/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt3.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkP7oSZVkbg&ab_channel=UCOnline.