Border Security Scenario #1
Diptych of Durst Lambda Prints (size variable), 2005
A map of the continental US created with Bacterium Serratia Marcescens and nutrient agar in a glass petri dish. The map was created using a small positive mold of the US. The mold was placed in a Petri dish followed by liquid agarose gel. Once the gel cooled and hardened, the mold was removed leaving a negative impression in the shape of the continental US. This void was filled with Nutrient Agar and then streaked with S. Marcescens. The bacterium did not spread beyond the “border” of the nutrient agar, presumable because there were no nutrients to fuel its expansion.