MA Art & Science student, Mellissa Fisher, Showed new bacterial portrait at Eden Project’s ‘Invisible You’ Exhibition

MA Art & Science student, Mellissa Fisher, has undertaken a commission for Eden Project’s exciting new microbiome exhibition, which opens today.

The Eden Project are well known for nurturing and displaying ecosystems, but now they’re taking a closer look at the invisible ecosystem within the human body; the ‘microbiome’.

Whether it’s bacteria in your gut to help you digest food, or microbes on your skin to keep it soft and fill the cracks to prevent disease, microscopic life is found everywhere in and on our bodies. In fact, human cells are outnumbered 10:1 by bacteria inside our body. But scientists are only just beginning to understand how these organisms – which have evolved with us over time – can affect all sorts of things, from our weight to our mood to our susceptibility to autism.

Supported by the Wellcome Trust, Eden invited a handful of talented artists to help bring this invisible world to life. Many of them collaborating with scientists, the artists created an amazing collection of artwork, installations and interactive pieces – ranging from a sound piece based on DNA, to sculptures and textiles exploring the patterns of bacteria, to a series of portraits depicting the bacteria within our belly buttons.

The exhibition puts everything from pregnancy and faeces to guts and antibiotics under the microscope. You’ll never look at your body in quite the same way again…

Mellissa created ‘Microbial Me’, a microbiological portrait, developed in collaboration with Dr Richard Harvey and Dr Mark Clements.

Mellissa talking about the project.

Visit Mellissa’s website.