DNA and chromosomes

I have been thinking more about imagery and looking back at the work I did for Concepts Module. In the same way that light is essential for life, DNA is also essential - it is the code from which life is organised. It is built from simple repeated units (the base pairs) and yet produces great complexity and diversity. It is a double helix spiral - the spiral is also a symbol of life. The human genome consists of 3 billion bases organised into complex folds forming the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each human cell. When cell division occurs, a web forms which is like a transport system for the chromosomes along which they move to divide. I have been fascinated with the occurence of webs throughout nature as previously explored in the Processes Module. But I've decided that I'm going to use DNA and chromosomes as inspiration for the construction of this project. The web element comes from the use of knit and ties in with one of my favourite bible verses about how God has created us: 'You knit me together in my mother's womb'.

I thought I'd have a go at stitching a DNA double helix using mylar strips and dichroic film but it didn't work.

Looking at the hanging mylar strands, I think if I cut them different lengths, they could look like the base pairs of DNA as they twist around the double helix. Very stylised.

The knit tubes are kind of web-like and if I thread strips of dichroic through them, they'll look like the chromatographs obtained when DNA is sequenced or like the pictures of chromosomes which show where the bands of genes are.