Did you ever wonder what Swine Flu actually looked like?
National Glass Centre’s latest Craft & Design Showcase presents
viruses magnified in size a million times enabling us to
visualise the viruses behind the headlines. Luke Jerram’s ‘Glass
Microbiology’ reveals microscopic virus, such as, HIV and Swine
Flu, magnified and made in lamp-worked glass. Lampworking is the
technique of forming objects from rods and tubes of glass. The
tubes, when heated in a flame, become soft and can be
manipulated into shape. The transparent glass sculptures were
created to contemplate the global impact of each disease and to
consider how the artificial colouring of scientific imagery
affects our understanding of phenomena. Jerram explores the
tension between the artworks' beauty, what they represent and
their impact on humanity. The sculptures were designed in
consultation with virologists from the University of Bristol
using a combination of different scientific photographs and
models. They were made in collaboration with NGC