American Vectors (work in progress)
images of bacteria cultures printed in the shape of air strips located at major U.S. airbases in Iraq streamed live via webcam.

McCarshcroft: a morphology of extremism
Image of a 200 mm. square petri dish with nutrient agar and the bacterium S. marcescens grown to form a Joseph McCarthy/John Ashcroft hybrid.
Color digital print 47” x 47”

“stay the course”
A series of four images, taken over time, of a petri dish with nutrient agar and the bacterium Serratia marcescens grown to form the phrase “stay the course,” a phrase used repeatedly by President Bush when describing U.S. strategy in Iraq. The dish is photographed at various points in time, recording the growth of the bacteria and the eventual disintegration of the letterforms.

Border Security Scenario #1
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.

Experiments in Resistance with Bleach
Part of a series of images in which cultures of Serratia marcescens are imprinted with sections of the First Amendment using common household chemicals such as: such as bleach, peroxide, hand sanitizing gel, antibacterial soap and cleanser. After periods of twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours, the resistance effect of each agent is documented and assessed.

“All Things Grow With Love,” detail, 2005
Description: sketch/test for sculptural display of a live culture of Serratia marcescens in nutrient agar, streamed via webcam. Image shows growth over two-week period.

FTZ: Foreign Trade Zones in America,
A map of foreign trade zones (FTZs) in the US created by growing colonies of Serratia marcescens in a base of nutrient agar in a 200 mm2 polystyrene petri dish (2005). Foreign trade zones are areasa within a country where imported goods can be stored or processed without being subject to import duty. Also called a "free zone," "free port," or "bonded warehouse."

TJMAQS
Map of maquiladoras in the Tijuana region created by growing colonies of bacterium Serratia marcescens in a base of nutrient agar in a 200 mm2 polystyrene petri dish (2005)