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.
A Window to a Future of an HIV Vaccine depicts a Trimer, which is part of the HIV virus defence mechanism.
I did 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.
