Rayna Li, Magic, Mechanics, and Microorganisms
2021
Petri-dish, agar base, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)
6cm x 6cm x 1cm
© 2021 Rayna Li, with photos by Dina
My bacterial painting is a portrait in homage to Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790), a legendary Swiss-born mechanical artist remembered for his work on humanoid automata. Despite his education in theology, which emphasizes that God is the sole creator of life, Pierre Jaquet-Droz devoted his entire oeuvre to creating machines that mimic living beings. His inventions — vividly animated clockwork robots that could write, draw, and play music — instantly captivated the courts of eighteenth-century Europe with what appeared to his patrons as sheer magic. More than elevating the craft of precision mechanics and clockmaking to the realm of fine art, Jaquet-Droz sparked fervent debates on the essence of life and the ethics of artificial "life-giving."
Three hundred years after the birth of this genius mechanical artist, I recreated his likeness using a living medium — genetically engineered E. coli expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). I use these thriving colonies of microorganisms to retrace and applaud the contributions of this iconic figure, whose meditations on the interaction of art and science continue to inspire bio-artists of today’s world.