The Blood Painting series engages with the use of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell and tissue culture, connecting the processes of life science with themes of mortality and preservation. Comprised of three watercolour paintings of orchids, the works also incorporate fetal calf blood, a sodium compound used in the mummification of the calf Algernon, and watercolour pigment mixed with FBS. By using these biological elements, the series comments on the practical and ethical implications of biotechnological practices drawing attention to the often-hidden dependencies on animal life within scientific research.

This series also links to a number of shrines dedicated to Algernon, the calf whose body was mummified during the production of these works, leaving traces of sodium and blood. Through these shrines, the series pays homage to Algernon’s biological legacy, transforming scientific resources into art as a form of memorial. The orchids, symbols of beauty and fragility, represent life’s transience, while the fetal blood and FBS evoke the delicate balance between life, death, and scientific intervention.

Blood Painting #1 was included in the group show Other Msconceptions, curated by Jo Diball and exhibited at Level ARI in Brisbane, 2010.

The work forms part of The Absence of Alice.