Escherichia Ophelia

The very epitome of bioephemera, from Microbial Art:

Artist JoWOnder presents a pre-Raphaelite painting of Ophelia created with bacteria. The demise of the painting is filmed using time-lapse photography, showing a story of death and creation of new life. The colors and animation for '6 Days Goodbye Poems Of Ophelia' were created in a laboratory at Surrey University UK with the help of microbiologist Dr. Simon Park. When displayed in 2010, this will be an outdoor video installation of Ophelia with poems submitted from the public. Composer Milton Mermikides will be producing a sound track based on the genetic code of bacteria that colonize the gut. (source)

Niall Hamilton, microbiologist and bacterial artist extraordinaire, let me know about Microbial Art, a new website that gathers together everything from spare E. coli sketches to this somewhat surreal multimedia project from JoWOnder. Definitely an excellent way to pass the time while waiting for your cultures to inoculate. Thanks Niall!