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Microbiology gallery

zone of resistance, petri dish art

Zone of Resistance Mixed Media 2016

Watercolor Bacteria and Viruses

Hosts and Invaders Watercolor 2016

Petri Dishes Watercolor Collage

Petri Dishes 1 Watercolor Collage 2011

Round watercolor inspired by plant structures

Purple Vessel, Watercolor, 2023

Bacteriophage (virus) in black and blue ink

Bacteriphage in Indigo and Black, Ink on Yupo, 2022

Watercolor of bacteria and Viruses in grid

Beautiful But Deadly, Watercolor, 2022

Petri dishes with watercolor on aluminum panels

Culture Dishes, Mixed Media, 2014

Watercolor microbes in grid

Blue Microbes, Watercolor, 2022

coronavirus watercolor in bright pastel shades

Variants, Watercolor, 2022

coronavirus in red and black ink on yupo

Red Coronavirus, Ink on Yupo, 2022

ink painting based on slime mold Physarum polycephalum

Slime Mold in Purple and Blue, 2023, Ink on Yupo

Michele Banks (Artologica) explains her own practice: “My work explores the world through the interplay of art and science. I create art—mostly painting—exploring themes from science and medicine, including images such as viruses, bacteria, and plant and animal cells. I’ve looked at how these organisms affect humans, and in turn how we affect them, through climate change, antibiotic use and other impacts on the earth. I like to paint science with watercolor because it can be transparent or translucent, allowing me to hint at what is happening beneath the surface. Watercolor also naturally flows into fractal patterns such as those seen in the nervous and circulatory systems, as well as in tree branches and river systems—in fact, everywhere in nature.

“Some of my earlier science-inspired pieces, like Portrait of a Human (2012), are watercolors that look at the basics of microbiology and cell biology, celebrating the hidden world around us and within us. Portrait of a Human is in fact a way to “flip” the idea of a portrait, which traditionally focuses on the external and the psychological, and here examines the internal and physical.”

Beyond the visual and structural elements, engaging with science through the prism of art lets Michele grapple with big, endlessly-opening topics, like what it means to be alive, to be human, and to belong in a natural and social environment.

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