Mosaic Virus

2018 30”h, 22”w collage and watercolour

During Tulipmania (Netherlands 1630-37) the most desired tulip petals were striated due to a virus. Eventually, it was a series of bulb manipulation experiments begun in 1928 by Dorothy Cayley at the John Innes Horticultural Institution in Merton, South London, England that led to the discovery of the virus. The virus is known as the tulip break virus, lily streak virus, or tulip mosaic virus. The name of the virus is a central motif in this collage, with a traditional mosaic floor pattern in the shape of a double helix. The helix patterns are collaged with prints of the mosaic virus DNA sequence. The floor also is the fertile ground for a tulip garden, complete with tulips cut out of a visualization of the mosaic virus. The mosaic pattern is made with pigment colour charts referencing an attempt to standardize that which defies regulation, as was the case during Tulipmania.

• Diagrams
• Watercolour