One of the more bizarre places to find myself published, but pleasing none-the-less. The Dutch Open University have kindly chosen to feature my painting of Schopenhauer and Hegel in their latest textbook.
I don’t speak Dutch, so I can’t tell you what’s been written beneath it…
It’s been a long time since I wrote any music, painting has been taking up all of my time. However, I did have a little spare time recently, and produced this piece.
I also made a video for it, because, well, why not?
HIV has been on my list of pathogens for a while. Of course virii are far far too small to take meaningful pictures of, even with SEM, so a degree of interpretation is required. From a human perspective, AIDS is a dreadful disease, however a part of me can’t help but be impressed with the stealth with which this particular organism infiltrates its host. By replicating the protein coatings of white-blood cells, it is able to completely elude attack from the very cells sent to destroy it.
There are of course trillions of virii in each and every one of us at any time, the vast majority producing no symptoms whatsoever, but this does not mean they aren’t busily using our cells to reproduce themselves, weaving their DNA into ours. There is a massive ecosystem of infectious agents at work on your body right now, and you have absolutely no idea. HIV is just one of these agents, but the consequences of infection are devastating.
Giardia Lamblia has been on my list to paint for a long time. It is a flagellated protozoan parasite that colonises and reproduces in the small intestine. This painting is a ‘view from below’, or an ‘intestinal villi-eye view’ if you prefer, of Giardia coming in to land…
Acrylic & Silicone on Canvas 600mm x 600mm
It lives in cyst form for months in all sorts of water conditions, waiting for a human, or other mammal, to ingest it. It has existed unchanged, in this form, for millions of years. Initially it was thought to lack mitochondria, but recent research has revealed organelles which point to some sort of bacterial symbiosis in its history.
If you should become infected with these critters, expect the following [from wikipedia]
Symptoms of infection include (in order of frequency) diarrhea, malaise, excessive gas (often flatulence or a foul or sulphuric-tasting belch, which has been known to be so nauseating in taste that it can cause the infected person to vomit), steatorrhoea (pale, foul smelling, greasy stools), epigastric pain, bloating, nausea, diminished interest in food, possible (but rare) vomiting which is often violent, and weight loss.[3] Pus, mucus and blood are not commonly present in the stool. It usually causes “explosive diarrhea” and while unpleasant, is not fatal.
Here is a timelapse recording of the painting process, music by ‘Return to Netley, things have changed’:
Entamoeba Histolytica is a unicellular organism which causes Amoebic Dysentry. I’ve painted three of them here, all in the excystation phase, where cells with multiple nuclei split apart and rapidly infect the host.
From wikipedia:
Symptoms can include fulminating dysentery, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, and abdominal pain. The amoeba can actually ‘bore’ into the intestinal wall, causing lesions and intestinal symptoms, and it may reach the blood stream. From there, it can reach different vital organs of the human body, usually the liver, but sometimes the lungs, brain, spleen, etc. A common outcome of this invasion of tissues is a liver abscess, which can be fatal if untreated.
Acrtylic and mixed media on canvas 600mm x 600mm
No timelapse film this time, my tripod was out on loan.
Filed by shardcore at 11:35 am under painting, print
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