One Scottish Artist Use Bacteria to Create Paintings

Usually painters simply use brush and paint to create their paintings. But this one artist is different from the others. It creates a unique blend of beautiful colors with the help of bacteria.

Sarah Roberts, an artist from Edinburgh, Scotland, worked with Simon Park, a molecular biologist from the University of Surrey in England, to create a painting with the help of bacteria.
Roberts has exhibited some of his work on his personal page. Seeing the unique works of colorful, besides invited to enjoy the beauty of various objects of painting, we also seem to be brought to know the microbial world that we often forget.
"We are always in contact with microbes, but often we forget them," said Roberts as reported by Wired.

Roberts himself does have an interest in the biological world. Even in his earlier works he often drew botanical illustrations and others.

Now, he tested the mystery of the microbial world after being inspired by the show 'This Week in Microbiology'.

"I want to know the bacteria more consciously, directly and deeply, to be able to approach them as if they were a larger human or animal, as if we could have a common language," Roberts said.

Thanks to the help of Simon Park, Roberts uses a bacterium called Serratia marcescens to paint. They placed S. mercescens on a gelatin plate that had been given colorful watercolors.
The reason for adding this S. mercescens bacteria is due to its ability to move in watercolor and also gelatin. When bacteria meet with watercolors in jelly, they will make the paint move and become a unique pattern.

Dr. Park and I initially suspected that the bacteria would eat or even avoid the paint, but there were some who swarmed around the paint and made the paint move as they moved, leaving traces of their movement behind it, "Roberts explains.

Roberts himself has a unique description of the movement of these bacteria.
"As soon as they huddle together, they will move in a circular motion, just like the kids circling the playground," he added.
"They also rotate while moving, and are covered by structures like hairs called flagella that help propel them in. They're like millions of tiny car wash sponges that spin very fast."