Metal sculpture of a horned cicada
As recent events in the world have become increasingly clear, the disconnect between the general public and the scientific community is getting worse and worse. This mistrust breeds dangerous misinformation, and it's time for humanity to come together to deal with terrible emergencies like the current climate crisis.
But a growing number of scientists are heeding calls to make their work more accessible to the wider public. Some are communicating science better in ways that ordinary people can understand, while others are turning to more creative expressions, such as Dr. Allan Drummond, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Chicago.
Metal sculpture of a praying mantis
During the day, Drummond and his lab's team worked to explore the evolution of protein synthesis. Outside of the lab, Drummond uses his spare time to create these very realistic metal sculptures of prehistoric and modern insects, cast from various metals such as bronze and silver.
To create works of these intricate details, Drummond usually started with pencil sketches and did extensive research and photographic references to obtain accurate details.
Metal sculpture of a trilobite
He paid particular attention to the lower abdomen of these ancient creatures, which often disappeared from the fossil record.
He then turned to a 3D modeling program called Blender, which helped him virtually sculpt three-dimensional shapes before wax models from the metal casting process were additionally manufactured by 3D printers. Blender's learning curve, Drummond says, was quite steep, but it was the tool that allowed him to achieve his dream of creating these interesting, palm-sized sculptures of insects.
Metal sculpture at the bottom of the trilobite
With the help of local sculptor and jewelry designer Jessica Joslin and Chicago jewelry designer Heather Oleari, some of the more complex pieces of jewelry are poured into individual pieces before being assembled.
Metal sculptures of various trilobites
In addition to the prehistoric trilobites, Drummond also turned his attention to more contemporary themes, such as this jumping spider, which Drummond amplified on its scale to create a striking replica.
"The spider explores its world with 8 curious eyes," he says. It was covered with thousands of bristles. I love these animals, they're funny, we're interested, but they're too small to meet properly. ”
Metal sculpture of a jumping spider
Our favorite is this striking sculpture of the horned cicada, a fascinating creature with a mouth organ like a mosquito, but instead of sucking blood, it sucks plant sap.
Drummond said: "A metal horned cicada, or well known as a 'plant shark', because it has shark-like horns on its back, its eyes are red, its upper body is hard armor, and it is a distant relative of the cicada. ”
Other sculptures focus on more microscopic organisms, such as this gorgeous yeast cell that is dividing.
As Drummond put it in a recent podcast: "It's a germinating yeast cell, a biological model that we study in the lab." I had a dream of doing a profile in a textbook, but there were a lot of details. On the outside are 3D printed steel, inside are 3D printed cast bronze, and inside, those small jewels extend to each other, some are chromosomes that are being separated. This is the later stage of cell division, where the mother cells are separated from the daughter cells. Some yeasts have 8 chromosomes, which are made up of apatite, a gemstone whose color comes from phosphorus, which is the backbone of DNA. Of course, DNA is a long string of chromosomes, and that's what we pass on to our offspring. ”
Metal sculpture of the internal structure of yeast cells
One can truly feel the passion and tireless curiosity behind these works of art. On the other hand, haptics and realism also help us to engage and connect with the actual science behind it.
As Drummond puts it, it's all part of the scientific discovery process: "So far, as a scientist, I've been slowly exploring, the deepest details. From trying to explain the evolutionary patterns of the tree of life, to exploring how cells respond to their environment, to tinkering with molecular debris within cells. The details are fascinating, fascinating, and important, and worth knowing and studying. This sense of unexpectedly interesting detail is something I'm trying to capture in my sculptures. ”