The Hidden Helix

Charlee Kirk, New Norfolk High School

In collaboration with Md Mobarok Hossain
Menzies Institute for Medical Research, UTAS

Artist’s Statement

I worked with Mobarok who’s trying to understand whether there’s a connection between the Epstein Barr Virus strains and development of MS because there is a higher incidence of MS in Tasmania compared to the mainland. It is thought that genetic changes in EBV may increase the risk of developing MS.

During the lab visit Mobarok showed us his research and how he reads data on the UniProt website. Mobarok works with NexGen sequencing data from the lab and patient information from the hospital.

I was inspired by the double helix structure of DNA and the DNA base code of ATCG. Human DNA has 3 billion pairs and if a mutation changes the protein, it causes disease.

My initial idea was to cast my own body, which I tried to do with plaster strips, but I didn’t achieve the look I wanted so I decided to use a mannequin. I decided to paint it black to symbolise the darkness of this terrible disease and the effects it has on the body. I used letter stickers to represent the DNA base code and I made the structure of a DNA helix out of neon strip lights. Finally, I added beading in different colours representing the four different letters.

My artwork is bright and colourful to attract people’s attention to a serious matter that deserves more attention. I hope that when people see my artwork, they feel inspired to find more out about Mobarok’s research.