Glass Microbiology by Luke Jerram

Imagination can sometimes be a little bit more colourful than reality.  Or scarier.  This is the case of the virus images that we come across so frequently in books, magazines and newspapers. They all come in dramatic colours, ready to scare and make a big impact while the truth is that all viruses are naturally transparent. This fact caused such a big impression to artist Luke Jerram that he used it as the main idea behind his glass, three dimensional sculptures.  Luke Jerram was born in 1974 and graduated from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff in 1997 with a first class honours degree in Fine Art.  He is an inventor, a researcher, an amateur scientist that likes interrogating knowledge and exploring ideas.  His personal take on the viruses reflects a totally different image than what we have in our collective representation. Jerram is exploring in this way the tension between the artworks' beauty and what they represent, their impact on humanity.  His viruses stand white and transparent, distant and challenging, fragile but strong, cold but not scary, mysterious and imposing and at the same time more human then ever.

One cannot help but question the reasons behind the pseudo-colouring in biomedicine and its use for science communicative purposes.  Just like Susan Sontag says in her book “Illness and its metaphors”, language after all, like art, reveals and influences the way that we experience things.  That means that it can provoke or impose fantasies regarding the disease that sometimes are more dangerous and hard to bear than the biological reality of the disease itself.  That’s why the work of Luke Jerram is of such an importance: it offers an alternative vision of the disease that can lead to a different way of experiencing it. The sculptures were designed in consultation with virologists from the University of Bristol using a combination of different scientific photographs and models.  They were also made in collaboration with glassblowers Kim George, Brian Jones and Norman Veitch.

Jerram says about it: " Its great to be exploring the edges of scientific understanding and visualisation of a virus. Scientists aren't able to answer many of the questions I ask them, such as how the RNA is exactly fitted within the Capsid?  At the moment, the technology isn't there to answer all these questions for certain.  I'm also pushing the boundaries of glassblowing. Some of my designs simply can't be created in glass, some are simply too fragile and gravity would cause them to collapse under their own weight.  So there's a very careful balancing act that needs to take place, between the limitations of current scientific knowledge and glassblowing techniques. "

For the first time ever, an exhibition of all Jerram's glass sculptures was presented along with photographic works and videos from 22nd Sept-3rd Oct at Smithfield Gallery inLondon.  Works included Avian Flu, Smallpox, HIV, Swine Flu, SARS Corona Virus and E. coli. Luke’s creations challenge our very own perceptions and ideas and demonstrate that reality and its perception is something totally subjective. And this is something that we should really thank him for…