‘My own loneliness drew me into it.’ Artist Kexin Liu is discussing how she came to work with an unlikely source of ink for print-working: bacteria. Liu has created work from once-living things before; past projects have included a series of elegant mini-sculptures of taxidermy and silver. But it was during the isolated times of the pandemic that she discovered an unexpected affinity with some creatures who lived much closer to home. 

‘I was actually quite depressed for a while because of the lack of connection with people,’ Liu says. ‘During my depression I was searching online, and I came across this video on the human microbiome, the idea that there are small creatures within me that accompany me the entire time. It was kind of comforting.’ Liu began developing techniques for painting and printing with specific strains of pigment-producing bacteria, and is now bringing her knowledge to Edinburgh Science Festival in a workshop on printing with microbes.

Those aged six and over can sign up and will have their own bacteria art to take home at the end. And if your curiosity about micro-organisms is piqued, it isn’t the only event at the festival placing bacteria centre stage. For over-14s interested in learning more, Professor Sebastian GB Amyes is presenting A Very Short Introduction To Bacteria. Liu herself explores micro-organisms in an exhibition entitled 3607 (named after the number of bacteria species detected in her body) as well as presenting a talk on the subject.

Pigmented bacteria has, says Liu, been around for a while in the art world, most significantly in the fashion industry, where it is used as a sustainable dye: it doesn’t get more organic than bacteria. There is no special process for bringing out the bacteria’s colour; mother nature has already taken care of that. ‘Some microbes secrete pigments, or they hold it inside their cell. And when they die, the pigment leaks out. There are multiple reasons why they do that. It’s a kind of self-defence mechanism; pigment has antibacterial qualities and they kind of use this pigment to ward off other bacteria.’ Think of it as akin to a squid or octopus spraying ink to fend off predators, only on a microscopic scale. 

Liu is not complacent about the powers of this tiny substance, stressing that safety is taken seriously at her workshops. ‘I’m lucky to be collaborating with Dr Keira Tucker. She has a PhD in microbiology and we’re definitely going to go through the health and safety first. Then we’ll have a demonstration on how to use the bacteria. People will have their own time to play and experiment. And at the end of the day, they’ll get a piece of cotton textile to take home.’

3607, Saturday 1 April–Monday 15 May; 3607: Talk, Saturday 1 April; Printing With Pigmented Bacteria, Saturday 8 April; all events at Summerhall, Edinburgh; A Very Short Introduction To Bacteria, National Museum Of Scotland, Tuesday 11 April.