As part of Stanford Arts’ Burt McMurtry Arts Initiative Fund, Stanford Synthetic Biology, and Stanford Bioengineering, I was chosen to participate in the workshop called From Petri Dish to Palette: Exploring Bacterial-Based Paint.
As part of the the Grow-Your-Own Biopigments workshop, led by Professor Jenn Brophy and Helen Dang in October 2024, I, along with 14 other people from various departments at Stanford began by growing bacteria in a petri dishes. Each bacteria had a different chromoprotein in it for a different color. On the left, you can see the bacteria with yellow chromoprotein.
After waiting for the bacteria to grow, we extracted it from the petri dish, killed the bacteria using a sonifier, and filtered out the chromoproteins. The resulting pigments were very vibrant as shown to the bright. The yellow is also fluorescent and glows under black light.
The process of synthetic biology fascinates me, and it inspired me to create a painting of something equally awe-inspiring. After moving to California in 2023, I was captivated by the beauty of Big Sur and the California coastline. I also wanted to incorporate a connection to the organisms that the chromoproteins came from—anemones, coral, and jellyfish—so a seascape felt like the perfect choice.
The paintings from the workshop were displayed as an art exhibit for two weeks in the Shriram Bioengineering building on campus.
My painting was also displayed at the Stanford Bioengineering Of Microbes and Mushrooms event alongside other bio-inspired artwork.
