And they dusted their little bodies with gold

1.5 x .75 x.75” each [ 12.5” diameter x 16” ]
Bronze with 14k gold-plated, velvet, glass and wood cloche. 2022.

Gold plated bronze, lost cast wax and printed from models of Dynophysis [ left and center ] and Ceratium [ right ]. 2022.

The title comes from a story in “Under the Bay.” Scene 05 Chalky Faeries states that scientists use a process that requires them to dust the microbes with gold to create remarkable, detailed images. Because the gold dust makes the critters opaque, this process results in detailed black-and-white imagery.

Dinoflagellate Variations [ Ceratium, Dinophysis, Gonyaulax, Ornithorcercus ], by Dr. Tsvetan Bachvaroff
Scanning Electron Microscopy [ SEM ] digital print, created at the University of Maryland College Park in 2008

Dr. Tsvetan Bachvaroff created these images and we displayed his SEM photos next to my models. The models were same ones used in the “Under the Bay” animations, but we 3D printed them with a lost-wax process in bronze and then plated them with gold.