In the first image the small fibres around the ‘blob’ are disease causing amyloid fibrils. The rope-like part is collagen. Other microscopy images are looking at the ‘amyloid seeds’ I have used in my art materials.
‘Seeding’ amyloids in the SWITCH lab at VIB KU Leuven towards a new artwork exploring amyloid disease.
Did an interview for BBC Radio 4 yesterday on fungi and how art can explore science and nature - part of Bridget Nicholls’ Zombie Ant Fungus project.
Pleased to be an Arts Chair for ALIFE conference 2026 - the International Conference on Artificial Life.
The call for applications is now live.
There is special mention that BioArt is an acceptable context.
See more via the link
2026.alife.org/call-for-art...
I'm excited to announce that my site-specific new solo exhibition “Materia Medica” created specifically for CAMUZ - the Uzbekistan Museum of Contemporary Art has been extended until 2nd September 2026! And here is a new guided tour video youtu.be/nSGdmCS0JnA?...
Video by @alexmayarts.bsky.social
Great first day at the Institute of Biology in Bucharest looking at plant callouses from edelweiss and smoke tree and testing polyphenols in smoke tree. Nice end of day dinner with residency hosts Marginal (Sabina Suru and Andrei Tudose).
Visualising disease-causing amyloids using Congo red dye that makes amyloids sparkle like the night sky under polarised light - as part of my residency at the SWITCH Lab at VIB KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience
Photos from my workshop exploring amyloids last week at VIB KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience in Leuven with researchers and patient representatives. We cast biomaterials and made amyloid milk bioplastic discussing amyloids and how they might have been the start of life on Earth
Creating art materials for a new work exploring amyloid disease using diagnostic dyes (Congo Red) and amyloid ‘seeds’ sealed in resin at the SWITCH Lab at VIB KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience. Dye experiments on silk with Sirius Red (which stains amyloids) and cochineal that breaks them down
Finding the amyloid fibrils I was hoping to find under transmission electron microscopy from the sample I spent much of the week preparing as part of my artistic research in the SWITCH lab at VIB KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience
