Cells

Studio Orta - 1260
Studio Orta - 1260

Date: 2014
Ref: 1260
Materials: Pencil, pigment ink, watercolour on Fabriano paper
Dimensions: 92.5 x 4 x 72.5cm (box framed)
Exhibition history: 2014 Federica Schiavo Gallery, Rome, Italy; Lethaby Gallery (Central Saint Martins), London, UK; 2015 University Museum (Heidelberg University), Heidelberg, Germany
Courtesy: The Artists

The body of work Cells by Lucy + Jorge Orta has been created as a result of an ongoing dialogue since 2013, with emminent mitosis scientist Tony Hyman and the Hyman Lab, at the Max Plank Institute of Mollecular Biology.

In the lab, the artists observed the molecular mechanism of conserved cytoskeletal processes and back in their studio, they explored cellular communication, transformation and division, taking special interest in chromosome mis-sequencing, which leads to highly complex three-dimensional structures. As a result, the artists created a collection of watercolours and hand-blown glass sculptures entitled Cells Diptych - offering a singular interpreation of the different stages of mitosis and meiosis.

Cells Diptych were first presented in Lens on Life, an exhibition curated by Professor Marina Wallace, which maps dialogues between artists and scientists who portray, each in their own unique way, the fundamental mechanisms of human life – mitosis. 
Video link Meeting of Minds to view the collaborations.