Artist Luke Jerram on recreating COVID-19 in glass

7 July 2020

By collaborating with scientific glassblowers, he helps the public visualise the enemy within

7 July 2020

Covid-19 sculpture, Luke Jerram, glass

Artist Luke Jerram works with scientific glassblowers to create intricate and accurate sculptures of bacteria and viruses at a million times their actual size. Images of his 23cm Covid-19 sculpture, commissioned eight weeks before the pandemic, have been used by media outlets internationally, helping the public to visualise the minuscule organism that has brought the whole world to a halt. We spoke to him about the convergence of art and science in his work.

What first inspired the Glass Microbiology project?

Luke Jerram: I was reading a story about HIV in a newspaper and the illustration used was a brightly coloured diagram. I did some research and found out that viruses don't really have a colour because they're smaller than the wavelength of light. So back in 2004 I found a glassblower I'd worked with before and we made a small HIV sculpture as an alternative representation of the virus. That was bought by the Wellcome Collection and led to a large body of work that has been produced ever since.

HIV sculpture, Luke Jerram, glass
T4 bacteriophage sculpture, Luke Jerram, glass

How do you translate a microscopic virus into a large-scale 3D artwork?

The sculptures are a combination of electron microscope photographs and scientific diagrams. Then I interpret those into a set of technical drawings that the glass blowers use to fabricate the artwork. The Covid-19 model was quite a straightforward artwork to make by comparison to some of the other structures, for example the intricate t4-bacteriophage and E-coli. The latter is particularly difficult to transport. Most of the pieces get to museums and exhibitions in one piece, but I lent one out to Channel Four once for filming, and it came back in a very small, rattly box.

Glass artist Luke Jerram, 2015. Photo: Allesandro Gaja

How does the process of scientific glassblowing differ from a traditional craft-led glassmaking approach?

Scientific glassblowing is done with borosilicate glass, starting off with cold glass which is melted over a flame. It's called lamp work. The glass team are able to make things incredibly accurately, to the millimetre. It's a very defined skill set. There are only about 90 professional lamp workers in the country left. It's very much a dying art. We've really pushed the boundaries of this type of glass – some of the artworks are even too fragile to stand up to gravity. The glassblowers have received OBEs for their work in the arts and their signature is on each artwork as well as mine.

I had a letter from someone with HIV who was very moved by my sculpture. Through it they were finally able to visualise the virus that was inside their body
Luke Jerram

How have the pieces been used outside of galleries and museums?

Photographs of the viruses that we've made have become part of the language of virology – they get used in medical textbooks, journals and newspapers around the world. Being able to visually communicate science is important, as is being able to see the enemy within. I had a letter from someone with HIV who was very moved by my sculpture. Through it they were finally able to visualise the virus that was inside their body.

Detail of E-coli, Luke Jerram, glass
E-coli sculpture, Sheffield Winter Gardens, Luke Jerram, glass

A lot of your work is informed by scientific discovery or the wonder of science. Why is this an inspiring space for you?

I’m really interested in phenomena. Scientists are also interested in phenomena because they offer a way of revealing and analysing the world around us. Many of the most important breakthroughs in our society come about through scientific research, so it makes sense that artists would want to respond to them.

What prompted you to found the Bristol Schools Arts Fund and the other Dreamtime Fellowship, which awards a bursary of £5,000 and free studio space at Spike Island?

I get very angry thinking that art departments are only allowing kids to paint on A4 bits of photocopy paper. You've got kids submitting their GCSE work in powder paints. I wanted to support my own local secondary school by helping them to buy art materials, and then I thought maybe I could do that all across Bristol, and have a larger impact. My project, the Museum of the Moon, has toured and been very successful financially, so it made sense to use some of the profits to support the arts in my own city. In terms of the Dreamtime Fellowship, I had a space at Spike Island art studios in Bristol for about 18 years and really benefited from it. When I set up my own studio, I wanted to give back to the artist community in Bristol and also keep those connections with younger artists. So it's been mutually beneficial.

Artist Luke Jerram on recreating COVID-19 in glass

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