A Scottish jewellery designer has gone viral after creating bizarre pieces of jewellery out of bacteria. Videos posted by Chloe Fitzpatrick on social media platform about how she creates one-of-a-kind jewellery have been viewed more than 20 million times.
Fitzpatrick makes what appear to be actual jewellery out of bacteria which she grows in a laboratory dish. And then she placed them into pendants and bracelets. Interestingly, she also transforms samples of her skin and plants into colors that she uses to dye resin jewellery.
“Bacteria is stereotypically gross, but I’m trying to show its beauty,” Chloe, told BBC Scotland.
Journey on TikTok
Chloe shares her creative journey with her 106,000 TikTok followers. Several of her videos received more than 10 million views.
“I think my videos have got a lot of views because it’s a strange idea,” she said.
“A lot of people have followed along with the process since it takes time.
“But I’m glad that people are seeing the fascinating side of bacteria and my videos are opening up a new perspective.”
How did she create jewellery from bacteria?
She produced the pieces alongside the University of Dundee’s School of Life Sciences, and the James Hutton Institute. They produced bacteria from her body and plants to create unique sculptures, showcasing bacterium outside labs and containers.
“I wanted to help people appreciate bacteria,” Chloe told a few publications. “It’s all around us – inside and on our bodies, on plants, everything we touch. I wanted to help people acknowledge it, as a piece of nature and as a piece of art,” she said.
She is eager to broaden her skill set by applying it to the production of functional and wearable jewellery. She also uses bacteria obtained from the purchaser.
“It would be really interesting. Everyone’s bacteria would be a different color – white, orange, pink – I’d quite like to expand the technique into wearable pieces since at this point it is solely art.”
Is the bacteria jewellery safe?
Chloe Fitzpatrick claims that her bacteria jewellery is fully safe. She said: “Everything is tested thoroughly to make sure the bacteria have been killed off.
For your information, her final achievement, a piece of jewellery made from bacteria has earned her the renowned Sir James Black award.
Do check her amazing video below!
If you’re interested to see more of her contents, you can follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Sources: Bareillyinfo, BBC, @chloefitz_design