Event 2 Blog | "The unnatural, that too is natural"

 “The unnatural, that too is natural,” by Anna Dumitriu was a live event held to showcase her work of combining the world of biological processes and art. Throughout the event, Dumitriu covered pieces from beads that resemble antibodies that have been known to bind and process HIV, to the number of ways yeast can be stretched and its relationship with lactic acid. Her projects intrigued me due to the complex nature of the experiments being done, as well as being able to create something meaningful and in some instances, useful.

“Antibody that binds to HIV Bead” (4:51), Anna Dumitriu

One of Dumitriu’s earlier projects stemmed from the war time quote, “Make Do and Mend,” (Dumitriu, 8:05) which she wanted to use to explain how antibodies act in the human body. By cultivating strains of E. coli into tangible strings of fiber, she used then to repair a British woman’s wartime suit with the British insignia of the Commodity Control patch to represent and align the effectiveness of antibodies healing our bodies, just as a patch fixes torn clothes. 

“Make Do and Mend” (6:40), Anna Dumitriu

The most fascinating part of the presentation titled “Fermenting Futures” (12:02) details Dumitriu's experiences with yeast and mutant yeast in a laboratory setting. She started by briefly telling us that yeast is able to take in carbon, as well as fermenting the yeast would result in lactic acid creation. In the lab, they “are able to capture carbon from the environment and create plastics… able to capture carbon and output lactic acid, which could be polymerized into PLA (plastic)” (Dumitriu, 15:30). And in order to create stronger plastics that could be used for functional actions, the yeast would need to be stress tested due to the lactic acid being toxic to it. The greater strength against the toxin would result in stronger plastics. We also learned that mutated yeasts usually grew on the walls of ancient buildings in Greece and Roman architecture. All of these aspects came together in her project which consisted of a jar full of fermented yeast as well as 3D prints of the mutated yeast along the jar, with plastics sprouting out of the top. Next to the jar, depicted a small town, coated in breadcrumbs used from the lab yeast, as well as the mutated yeast on the wall. The culmination of these came together to represent how “yeast might be creating our culture while we culture it” (Dumitriu, 25:53). This really stuck to me because it gave me time to think of how humans and civilization came to be, and what we are doing now to further it's progress (shown by the new ways of creating plastics). 

Image of Yeast Culture with Plastic and Civilization (20:46), Anna Dumitriu

The final topic covered was the combination of biotech and art. The project started by taking a giant parsnip and “trying to knock out the bitter terpenes for a sweeter, more full of dietary benefits'' (Dumitriu, 42:29). The fascinating aspect of this seemingly straightforward process, is that this falls under “gene editing” (Dumitriu, 43:08), not genetically modified products (GMO), which can appeal to a larger number of people who are consciously wanting to not eat GMO. It can reduce the number of chemicals used in the food we consume and can promote a healthier future. 

Image of “Giant Parsnip” (45:09), Anna Dumitriu

This event was extremely interesting, and I would recommend it to really anyone. I initially thought I would have no appeal to the projects, yet after the talk, I found myself thinking about other ways gene editing can be used and how yeast can be utilized even more. Though, I would say that anyone with interest in biological processes outside of the human body, would enjoy, and understand it even more.

All Images used were from the video lecture/event. All Images are given their exact time stamp, as well as the respective link. Proof of attendance is uploaded to the assignment Canvas. 

Video Lecture Citation

Dumitriu, Anna. “Anna Dumitriu - The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo | ArtSci, 13 May 2021, 9:00 am, vimeo.com/545309728. 

Image Citation

Image 1) Dumitriu, Anna. “Anna Dumitriu - The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo | ArtSci, 13 May 2021, 9:00 am, vimeo.com/545309728. “Antibody that binds to HIV Bead” (4:51), Anna Dumitriu

Image 2) Dumitriu, Anna. “Anna Dumitriu - The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo | ArtSci, 13 May 2021, 9:00 am, vimeo.com/545309728. “Make Do and Mend” (6:40), Anna Dumitriu

Image 3) Dumitriu, Anna. “Anna Dumitriu - The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo | ArtSci, 13 May 2021, 9:00 am, vimeo.com/545309728.Image of Yeast Culture with Plastic and Civilization (20:46), Anna Dumitriu

Image 4) Dumitriu, Anna. “Anna Dumitriu - The Unnatural, That Too Is Natural.” Vimeo | ArtSci, 13 May 2021, 9:00 am, vimeo.com/545309728. Image of “Giant Parsnip” (45:09), Anna Dumitriu