Under a Victorian microscope - Feb until April 09

Desdemona McCannon is a writer, lecturer, designer and maker living on Merseyside. She works at North Wales School of Art where she lectures in Design Theory and teaches Illustration and Decorative Arts. She has worked with a variety of different clients across the world, including a two year stint in Tokyo.

Victorian Bacteria

This collection of images is inspired by a collection of old Victorian illustrations of Petri dish cultures found in my mother’s book collection. I was intrigued that something so small should be drawn with such attention to detail and I was also charmed at the skill and labour involved as this kind of imagery has been replaced by photographic processes.

I have recently been using a heat transfer technique to apply images to ceramic tiles, and the idea of displaying imagery based upon germs and bacteria onto a medium that has been traditionally used for its clinical and sanitary properties appealed to me.

I investigated the colour palettes of traditional tile designs as well, and tried to convey a ‘victorian’ flavour to the designs.

I investigated using the designs as repeats and will eventually develop a range of wallpaper and products with the ‘Victorian Bacteria’ theme.

I am excited to be showing these images exclusively at MerseyBio and would be very interested to see how modern imaging techniques of bacteria and microscopic forms could be developed into decorative design.

Desdemona McCannon February 2009

Please respect the artist's images and do not use or copy them in any way without permission