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posted 03 May 2012 by Howard Boland
Today - the Spring 2012 iGEM library arrived. Still missing though, the magnetosome kit. The library consisting of 4 x 96 plates packed with the latest selection of genetic parts from last years iGEM teams - exciting stuff :)
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posted 25 Apr 2012 by Laura Cinti
After 8 months on Bishop's Square, Spitalfields, the box was dismantled and shipped back to Riga, Latvia (MMIC). This marks the end of C-LAB's involvement as UK partner and curator of the EU funded European Public Art Centre (EPAC) that resulted in 15 exhibitions across 9 different European cities. It was a pleasure to work with our European partners on this project. A special thank you to the artists, Anne Brodie, Antonio Caramelo and Martynas Gaubas. Finally, our sincere thanks to our venue partner - Spitalfields. Spitalfield crew dismantling the box in the rain, Bishop's Square, Spitalfields, London.
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posted 24 Apr 2012 by Laura Cinti
After 52 days on Bishop's Square, Spitalfields, Martynas Gaubas' The Emigration (2012) was uninstalled. This was the third and final public art exhibition in UK's partnership with the European Public Art Centre. Bringing the heart home. Tomorrow, the box will be dismantled and sent back to Latvia.
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posted 18 Apr 2012 by Laura Cinti
Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration (2012), curated by c-lab is on show in Spitalfields, London until 24 April 2012 as part of the EU funded European Public Art Centre.
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posted 15 Apr 2012 by Laura Cinti
C-LAB was delighted to meet the Lithuanian Cultural Attaché Rita Valiukonyte and present current work by Lithuanian artist Martynas Gaubas as part of European Public Art Centre (EPAC). The sculpture, currently on show in Spitalfields (London) until 24th April 2012, is dedicated to those "who emigrate, who are waiting their chance and willing to return..." "Heart symbolizes love, waiting and longing. Heart is like a puzzle without all the details. Details of which this heart is made are recorded by my friends and acquaintances, their names, who like to live in Lithuania. Missing part is the people who emigrated." Martynas Gaubas, 2012
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posted 03 Apr 2012 by Laura Cinti
Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration (2012), curated by c-lab is on show in Spitalfields, London until 24 Arpil 2012
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posted 24 Mar 2012 by Howard Boland
Sludge Bacteria from c-lab on Vimeo. I filmed this yesterday with a microscope (x100) to look at what a sewage ecology of bacteria looks like. I use these bacteria to degrade dye in the artwork Transient Images. Although, they all seem to be rod shaped - there appears to be slight differences in morphology and behaviour. I am quite impressed with their speed and movement.
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posted 23 Mar 2012 by Howard Boland
As part of the bio-remediation artwork Transient Images that generates images while decolourising dye and then use a fungi (Pleurotis) to remediate the toxic by-product. Here, I explore the final step - the daunting task of producing an edible mushroom (oyster) from the fungi. The main issue in going from fungi to mushroom is the time it takes to form a fruiting body. The papers we looked at suggested one month! To make it happen, our idea was to make a semi-solid media containing Potato Dextrose Yeast (PDY) and wheat flakes. From a white looking petri dish, fungi grown on PDA, I would punch out three plugs and placed these in the flask with semi-solid media. The flask was sealed with foil and placed at 30°C. Is one month too long?
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posted 14 Mar 2012 by Howard Boland
I am having problems growing a specie of bacteria and have been looking for a good way of differentiating between dead and living cells. Having explored some bacterial techniques (e.g. PI/DAPI), I discovered we were missing the filter to see them and was therefore on the look-out for alternatives. Here, I am exploring staining with Trypan Blue. Although these are mamalian cells, what is useful is that living cells show up bright white while those dead are blue. The grid seen under the microscope can be used to count those dead and alive....as seen above most are living.
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posted 10 Mar 2012 by Howard Boland
I decided to move my stress promoter in front of an mCherry or red flourescent gene, and make a genetic construct that could also produce what looks like a red "ring of fire" (above). I am hopeful that what is observed at the bottom of this flask contains cells expressing red fluorescent proteins (RFP) under control of my genetic stress switch. After the cloning, cells where grown overnight and centrifuged down to make a dense concentrate. I will verify that the construct is correct, but the strong red colour is at least a hopeful indicator. Last year, I made a green fluorescent construct but RFP can be more difficult to express for bacteria. Despite this, once expressed, I think RFP is a more dramatic identifier.
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posted 09 Mar 2012 by Howard Boland
Preparing media for growing magnetospirillium gryphiswalden has been a real pain in the neck. Soil or pond based bacteria are fastidious organisms that are fussy. I had to go back to basics and try to make up the media of the stock provider. The pink colour is produced when mixing the oxidation-reduction indicator "resazurin" with potasium phosphate salt. And this is just to make up the base...making vitamin and trace element solution was more involved. After mixing, adjusting pH, sterilising and combining the various solution (base, vitamin, trace elements, electron donor and carbon source) parts we finally end up with a light pink/violet media. By adding nitrogen gas to a sealed vial, the media was ready to be inoculated. But will they grow??!
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posted 05 Mar 2012 by Laura Cinti
Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration (2012), curated by c-lab is on show in Spitalfields, London until 24 April 2012 While checking up on Lithuanian artist Martynas Gaubas public art exhibition, The Emigration, in Spitalfields today, I thought about the Lithuanian gentleman who curiously approached us the evening before while we were installing the work. It was late, cold and wet, but he was eager know more about the work - a sculpture dedicated, in Gaubas words, to "those who emigrate". "But this is true", he commented. He, himself had emigrated from Lithuania and found a new life, like the Lithuanian joke of its country being a place natives leave and only return for vacations. "The artist must have a lot of friends, but I understand, they leave...it is sad...but true"...
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posted 04 Mar 2012 by Laura Cinti
"This sculpture is made for those who emigrate, who are waiting their chance and willing to return. And I want to believe that it is not emigration, but only migration. Heart symbolizes love, waiting and longing. Heart is like a puzzle without all the details. Details of which this heart is made are recorded by my friends and acquaintances, their names, who like to live in Lithuania. Missing part is the people who emigrated." Martynas Gaubas (2012) As part of the EU funded European Public Art Centre (EPAC), a European-wide collaboration between organisations across Europe exhibiting public artworks, C-LAB, UK partner and curator, is delighted to present the Lithuanian artist Martynus Gaubas' artwork - The Emigration...
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posted 25 Feb 2012 by Laura Cinti
Landscapes of Exploration foregrounds the role of contemporary art in examining Antarctica. What perspectives can art offer on this terra incognita, a forbidding environment where the temperature rarely rises above freezing, yet one which for scientists offers a wealth of geological and glacial data including indicators of climate change. Liz Wells, Curator, Landscapes of Exploration (2012) Anne Brodie, Wastegloo 2006-7, an alternative igloo made from igloo offcuts. (Photo: Anne Brodie) Anne Brodie - C-LAB's first commission Bee Box, 2011 for the EU funded European Public Art Centre - is currently exhibiting her works developed during her three month Antarctica Fellowship (2006-7) at Landscapes of Exploration held in the Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth until 3...
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posted 19 Feb 2012 by Laura Cinti
After two months on Bishop's Square, Spitalfields, António Caramelo's Dreaming of a Butterfly was uninstalled in preparation for its new adventure in Guimarães, Portugal - the European Capital of Culture 2012. António Caramelo, 'Dreaming of a Butterfly', 2011 - 12, London, UKHoward Boland (C-LAB) taking down António Caramelo's 'Dreaming of a Butterfly'The sleeping butterflies.....Howard Boland (C-LAB) taking down António Caramelo's 'Dreaming of a Butterfly' We look forward to welcoming the artwork The Emigration by Martynas Gaubas from Lithuania as part of the EU funded European Public Art Centre.
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posted 11 Feb 2012 by Laura Cinti
António caramelo, Dreaming of a butterfly (2011) curated by c-lab is on show in Spitalfields until 18th February 2012.
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posted 04 Feb 2012 by Laura Cinti
Kichel Kim Sound Looking (1999 - 2002)
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posted 03 Feb 2012 by Laura Cinti
The General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory's Nano Quadrotors.
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posted 31 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Lara Fluxà's presented her DYNAMIC LEVELS OF CONTINUOUS COMPENSATIONS aspart of Spain's presentation for EU funded European Public Art Centre. lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara fluxà garcia) lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara fluxà garcia) lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara fluxà garcia) lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara fluxà garcia) lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara fluxà garcia) lara fluxà, 'dynamic levels of continuous compensations', 2012 (photo: lara flux&...
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posted 24 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Martynas Gaubas presented his THE EMIGRATION as part of the Lithuania's presentation for EU funded European Public Art Centre.Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration, 2011 (Photo: Erminijus Krasucki) Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration, 2011 (Photo: Erminijus Krasucki) Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration, 2011 (Photo: Erminijus Krasucki) Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration, 2011 (Photo: Erminijus Krasucki) Martynas Gaubas, The Emigration, 2011 (Photo: Erminijus Krasucki)
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posted 21 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
antónio caramelo, dreaming of a butterfly (2011) curated by c-lab is on show in spitalfields until the end of the monthantónio caramelo, dreaming of a butterfly (2011)antónio caramelo, dreaming of a butterfly (2011)antónio caramelo, dreaming of a butterfly (2011)
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posted 17 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
António caramelo, Dreaming of a butterfly (2011) curated by c-lab is on show in Spitalfields until the end of the monthUnfortunately one butterfly appears to have snapped apart Background building viewA kiss for the butterflies (or artist) from a passionate visitor....howard boland looking at one of the challenging aspects of the work - feedback loop vs. sensitivity of the butterflies
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posted 14 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Elzbieta Wysakowska-Walters presented her AMULET as part of the Poland's presentation for EU funded European Public Art Centre. photo: elzbieta wysakowska-walters photo: elzbieta wysakowska-walters Photo: Elzbieta Wysakowska-Walters
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posted 14 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Adalsteinn Stefansson presented his GRABBING THE VOID as part of the Iceland's presentation for EU funded European Public Art Centre. Adalsteinn Stefansson, Grabbing the Void, 2011 (Photo: Erling T.V. Klingenberg)adalsteinn stefansson, grabbing the void, 2011 (photo: erling t.v. klingenberg) adalsteinn stefansson, grabbing the void, 2011 (photo: erling t.v. klingenberg)
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posted 08 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Last day of exhibition and for the first time in days we managed eat breakfast before its opening.We pick up a fresh batch of Banana Bacteria and move the Stress-o-stat poster to a more visible area hoping it will do the explaining for us. A nice surprise turned up - Kagemu, a spectacular audio-visual performance artist whose show we saw the night before. He wants to see our synthetic biology work the Stress-o-stat. Later, Professor Pramod Wangikar of our IIT Bombay lab comes by with his family to view our works. We were really happy he came and got to see the outcomes of our lab labour. Hopefully, he enjoyed it – at least his children eagerly put on goggles to see how we made the invisible process of stress come to light...
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posted 07 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Second day of exhibition and things were getting more crowded. Our fermentation had been going for 24 hours and things were growing well. The bacteria were expressing stress as light and could be seen wearing special polarised glasses despite the bright light conditions. Fresh banana bacteria had been grown overnight and was brought in. The plants had finally taken and were growing in ferrofluid solution. By 11am we were told to clear our exhibition space of people to allow the organisers to flush people through. People outside had been waiting for 4 hours in temperature above 30ºC. We were overwhelmed by the amount of people and their great enthusiasm to see the exhibits...
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posted 06 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
We had just managed to get our exhibition ready and people were entering. The first two looked surprisingly like military officers. We were a bit nervous thinking “don’t tell us they are gonna ask us to take the whole thing down – not after this!” They asked about the Banana Bacteria, the strain and smelt. They smiled and proceeded to look at Stress-o-stat and Nanomagnetic Plants. Our room was quite lit, and we had originally asked for a dark space, as our Dark Reader from Clare Chemical Research gives the most magnificent display under these conditions. We figured we could use a black light in addition to fire up the proteins. People began to pour in, first bus loads of school children of all ages. Later, the audience became more varied...
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posted 05 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
Last day before the exhibition! We entered the lab and opened the shaker thinking....this is why people don't work with living materials for exhibitions and certainly not in foreign countries.... But, hurray – both 200ml cultures had grown nice and cloudy overnight – we were in business! We added isoamyl alcohol to our M9 culture with our Banana Bacteria system. Now – we had to move onto the bigger picture. First, we needed to wait until evening for the researchers, Krishna Kumar and Dr Sandeep Gaudana, to wrap up their experiments before we could work on the fermenter. We began to prepare the setup and quickly realised that an additional size of silicon tubes were not available for the condenser...
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posted 04 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
A slight worry that something may have gone wrong was happily brushed aside by two lovely thick cultures pulled out of the shaker.We had posted most of the media required prior to departure, as its inconspicuous content is less fit for travel. Unfortunately, Christmas postings left little guarantee of arrival and so we had to travel with a backup.With cultures growing we needed to prepare minimal media - more often this means making separate components that are blended together after sterilisation. A great tip we learnt from our lab partners was an alternative use of chemical catalogues. Instead of using expensive autoclave tape (£40 a roll) they simply wrap a bit of paper around - brilliant! No need to wait here. Stacking our components into a pile before autoclaving...
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posted 03 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
We waited for access to the lab and tried to explain to festival managers the impossible equation of only starting lab work the following evening. E.coli takes at least 16 hours to grow, and this is done overnight, we needed to prepare media and slowly grow them up to the volumes required for the exhibition which would take, at least, several days. We were finally taken to meet the Professor of the Biological Systems Engineering Laboratory at 6:15pm. Professor Pramod Wangikar understood our problem and requirements, which included taking out one of their most precious items, an expensive fermenter. This also meant we had to terminate one of the researchers experiment early. With incredible kindness, he decided to open the space to us and introduced us to Dr Sandeep G...
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posted 02 Jan 2012 by Laura Cinti
A 4 hour flight delay on the plane in London meant a 4am arrival in Mumbai. Here, we meet our new friend the lovely coordinator, Sai Prashanth, who took us to IIT Bombay.....that at first sight resembled a military camp rather than a University campus. Inside, however we became acutely aware that this was almost like a separate island from Mumbai with lush vegetation, serene lake views and free roaming dogs. Even a Panther had been sighted a few minutes off our guesthouse accommodation. Our exhibits required us to bring some unusual equipment and material that we had been lucky not to have scrutinised by customs. We had also posted these but had not been told that it had arrived...
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posted 14 Dec 2011 by Howard Boland
I entered the lab - half down with a hard-to-shake flu. I had not been to check on our Christmas Tree for days. I opened the blue drawer and began inspecting bottles, tubes and plates. The unknown plant seemed uneffected by hormone treatment. No roots, no contamination but a slight darkening (phenol?). I inspected the plated. Oh no!!! Contamination! A white snow-covering fungi was powdering the christmas tree and thriving, creating a belt on the agar. Traces of fungi was also observed on the needle plate. Ok! These plates are goners... But wait! One of the tube containing Auxin hormone showed tiny roots sticking out from the bottom of the wood!! ...and from a different angle...yeah...I think those are roots... Very odd though - as the fluid colour had darkened...
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posted 03 Dec 2011 by Howard Boland
Cloning the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree continues with an inspection to check for contamination. We have placed cuttings of the tree in tissue culture media and returned today to check how they looked. All but two tubes had been placed in a dark shelf. Inspecting plates and falcon tubes, all seemed fine (puh! no comtamination - yet). We are hoping to see tiny shoots of roots soon - maybe on Monday. The eppendorph tube containing plants and auxin - one plant (left) was bubbling a bit - not sure if this is a good or bad sign - maybe just wood or something to do with it being Norwegian - the other plant (unknown but looks plastic-like) did not bubble.We are quite curious if the needles will form roots.The plate with a Christmas tree cut on its own.....
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posted 02 Dec 2011 by Howard Boland
Each year Oslo gives London the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree 'as a token of gratitude' for its support during the Second World War. Every year, Christmas trees are culled and thrown out after the festive celebrations. This Christmas, C-LAB attempts to create a tree rather than killing it. Our first step in the operation was to get hold of a cutting of Trafalgar Square Christmas tree. With a help of a lab colleague, and a member of the security team (on Trafalgar Square) we obtained a small cutting. Back in the lab, I was preparing and locating a media to tissue culture the cuttings. 200ml Murashige and Skoog media was prepared with 1.5% agar. The media contained supplements of IAA, Kinetine and Sucrose...
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posted 24 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
Gints Gabrans presented his THE NERVES during the second phase of the EU funded European Public Art Centre (EPAC) programme, which involves arotation of artworks between participating countries. THE NERVES follows on from Portugal's presentation Dreaming of a Butterfly by António Caramelo showing London UK till 31 December 2011. gints gabrans, 'the nerves', jardim palácio galveias, campo pequeno, lisbon, portugal (photo: gints gabrans)
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posted 23 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
Research into computerises lens for capturing information provides future scopes and applications in gaming, monitoring health, navigation and (my favourite) a 'super sneaky way to access info while carrying on a conversation'.... A labeled photo shows the LED, antenna, and integrated circuit embedded in a plastic contact lens (Institute of Physics).
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posted 19 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
Howard Boland By box, currently showing António Caramelo's Dreaming of a Butterfly.Howard Boland Looking at one of the challenging aspects of the work - feedback loop vs. sensitivity of the butterflies.As the butterflies sensitivity grew.....so did the crowds. "Are they real?" - the main question posed by many of the passers-by.Locating alternative spots for microphones was tricky.Howard Boland Listening out for box humming.Audience pondering by the artwork.Reality as an investigatory process? Many had figured that clapping was the easiest way of causing motion - at some point a large group could be seen clapping around the box.The box and its proximity to one of London's famous landmark - "the gherkin". A chilly autumn evening with the butterflies.
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posted 18 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
Antonio Caramelo, Dreaming of a Butterfly, 2011Antonio Caramelo, 'Dreaming of a Butterfly', 2011Antonio Caramelo, Dreaming of a Butterfly, 2011Antonio Caramelo, Dreaming of a Butterfly, 2011
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posted 17 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
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posted 06 Nov 2011 by Laura Cinti
Ben Dromey, Mina Arko and Jari Suominen presented their CITYBEAT during the second phase of the EU funded European Public Art Centre - EPAC - programme, which involves a rotation of artworks between participating countries. CITYBEAT follows on from Latvia's presentation, THE NERVE by Gints Gabrans showing in Lisbon, Portugal till late November. Ben Dromey, Mina Arko and Jari Suominen, CITYBEAT (Riga), 2011. (Photo: Ieva Strale)ben dromey, mina arko and jari suominen, citybeat (riga), 2011. (photo: ieva strale)ben dromey, mina arko and jari suominen, citybeat (riga), 2011. (photo: ieva strale)ben dromey, mina arko and jari suominen, citybeat (riga), 2011...
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