A WINDOW TO A FUTURE OF AN HIV VACCINE

A WINDOW TO A FUTURE OF AN HIV VACCINE 2015

A Window to a Future of an HIV Vaccine (2015) was commissioned by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for The Art of Saving a Life project. 38 artists worldwide were asked to create pieces on the importance of vaccine research. This is a Trimer, which is part of the HIV virus defence mechanism.

I did my research with Professor Robin Shattock of Imperial College London and Dr. Andrew Ward from The Scripps Research Institute in California. From these discussions I became fascinated with the important role the mushroom-shaped Trimers on the surface of the virus play in the quest for an HIV cure.

I laser-etch the various layers of the Trimer, down to the smallest molecular level, into 8 separate blocks. When put together, these make up the trimer as a whole.

The 8 blocks represent the many scientists and laboratories around the world working on the problem of HIV, researching their own small part of the puzzle and sharing their findings in a collaborative quest for a cure.

A WINDOW TO A FUTURE OF AN HIV VACCINE 2015

A window to a future of an HIV Vaccine 2015