Fragile Microbiome

This hand-felted artwork is embroidered and beaded to represent the lining of the gut and the rich communities of bacteria that live inside us and is impregnated with their DNA. The piece also contains bilirubin and biliverdin, two bile pigments which combine to give faeces (poo) their colour. They also give bruises their diverse colours.

If we take antibiotics to treat diseases, they can sometimes reach our guts in sufficient amounts to affect our natural gut bacteria – our microbiome – and damage that fragile ecosystem, like a bruise. This leaves us potentially vulnerable to colonisation with micro-organisms that can go on to cause disease, such as Clostridioides difficile, which can cause very unpleasant and debilitating health issues, including diarrhoea. 

Holes in the felt echo the effects of broad-spectrum antibiotics on the gut, where the normal microbiome dies off in patches, leaving spaces for potentially more dangerous bacteria.

Credit: Anna Dumitriu, in collaboration with Dr Jane Freeman and members of the Healthcare Associated Infections Research group, including academic and clinical members of staff at the University of Leeds.

Materials: Wet felt, needle felt, beads, embroidery, sterilised gut bacteria from a diverse microbiome bile pigments.

Year: 2024