The Surprising Value of Unnecessary Research with Anna Dumitriu

We all know the story of Sir Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin. Similarly, the X-Ray, Insulin, and many more medical and scientific breakthroughs can be traced back to “happy accidents”. Each time the scientist attempted to do something else, found an odd thread and pulled it. Had they not seen it, or decided not to pull, our modern human experience would have been drastically different.

These types of anomalies and variations happen all the time. But we don’t always embrace them. In fact, many of us go out of our way to avoid them altogether. And when they do occur, we may be reluctant to be “distracted” by them. Much of our culture values focus and simplicity. “Eyes on the prize”, “Keep it Simple Stupid”, and all that.

But how many penicillins and X-rays and insulins remain undiscovered because of our “efficiency”?

Today’s guest takes a different approach. Anna Dumitriu is an award-winning British artist who works with BioArt, sculpture, installation, and digital media to explore our relationship to infectious diseases, synthetic biology, and robotics. Anna prefers to “reveal the strangeness” of things… to help us confront the unusual and uncomfortable … to acknowledge the complexity and the beauty around us.

Anna’s curiosity and her drive to confront the complexities of our world have taken her on a truly fascinating journey. She’s edited genes with CRSPR, extracted DNA from killed Yesinia pestis bacteria for her Plague Dress, explored the ethics of artificial intelligence, and much more. Anna calls this “unnecessary research” and she believes it creates opportunities for discovery. It puts her and her colleagues in a place where happy accidents are more likely to occur.

We explore why and how Anna does what she does. How her path evolved and led to working side-by-side with scientists in the lab. And why you just might want to consider doing a bit more unnecessary research in your next project.

Anna Dumitriu

Anna Dumitriu is an award winning internationally renowned British artist who works with BioArt, sculpture, installation, and digital media to explore our relationship to infectious diseases, synthetic biology and robotics. Past exhibitions include ZKM, Ars Electronica, BOZAR, The Picasso Museum, HeK Basel, Science Gallery Detroit, MOCA Taipei, LABoral, Art Laboratory Berlin, and Eden Project. She holds visiting research fellowships at the University of Hertfordshire, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and Waag Society, as well as artist-in-residence roles with the Modernising Medical Microbiology Project at the University of Oxford, and with the National Collection of Type Cultures at Public Health England. She was the 2018 President of the Science and the Arts Section of the British Science Association. Her work has featured in many significant publications including Frieze, Artforum International Magazine, Leonardo Journal, The Art Newspaper, Nature and The Lancet. Current collaborations include the Institute of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology at BOKU – Universität für Bodenkultur in Vienna, the EU H2020 CHIC Consortium, the University of Leeds and the Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells at HelmholtzZentrum in München.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts:

or, listen right here: