Yellow Magic

For British Science Week, Oxford’s Museum of the History of Science presented Yellow Magic, a special event about the story of penicillin that brought together artists and scientists working at the edge of medical research. As part of that event, Alex May and Anna Dumitriu exhibited the latest version of their virtual reality exploration of bacteria and whole genome sequencing.

The work combined immersive image with physical sensation, using digitally synchronised fans to blow bacterial smells towards the participant during the virtual experience. That integration of sensory atmosphere with bio-digital imaging pushed the project beyond simple visualisation. Instead of explaining sequencing at a distance, it made microbial research feel bodily, present, and culturally charged.

In May’s practice, this kind of work matters because it brings technical systems into direct relation with memory, perception, and embodied experience. At Yellow Magic, the virtual reality installation connected microbiology, medical history, and sensory design, showing how digital art can make scientific ideas tangible without reducing them to demonstration alone.