The Contamination of Alice: Instance #3 presents a portrayal of presence and absence through the biological remnants of bacterial and fungal colonies on watercolour paper. These colonies, cultivated over six months on Agar faces of Alice, the original donor of the Saos-2 cell line, grew in response to varying nutrient conditions. As they evolved, they left behind unique, residual traces, capturing the unpredictable ways in which life forms persist and decay.

This work extends beyond the literal biological growths, engaging with ideas of what remains when an entity is physically absent yet continues to influence its surroundings. The piece mirrors the impermanence of biological forms and the marks left on the environments they inhabit. By incorporating these microbial traces, Instance 3 speaks to the duality of presence and absence—the unseen connections that linger, and how identity or legacy can subtly endure through the traces left behind. The work is, thus, a meditation on mortality, memory, and the persistence of all traces of life.

The work forms part of The Absence of Alice.