This piece of work was a collaboration work with my son, Russell.
Here is a short write up on the work describing the idea and concept behind.
The work aims to illustrate the importance of stereochemistry using the chemical Thalidomide as an example. Thalidomide is an oral medication first prescribed in West Germany in 1957 for insomnia, morning sickness and anxiety. A few years later, it was discovered to have caused a significant amount of birth defects in infants when consumed during pregnancy, affecting approximately 10,000 babies, of which 40% did not survive. Subsequent research showed that Thalidomide exists in two forms (isomers) instead of just one, where they differed in their three-dimensional orientations.
This concept is known today as Stereoisomerism, where two forms of the same molecule (enantiomers) appear as mirror images of each other, but are non-superimposable. Enantiomers exist as racemic mixtures, where each form is present in equal amounts in a mixture. An analogous example is our left and right hands, which appear as mirror images when palms are placed together, but neither can be perfectly overlapped when observed from the back of the hands. Due to the seemingly small difference in orientation, the two forms of Thalidomide had drastically different pharmacological effects, where the positive effects of one form (R-isomer) were masked by the negative effects of the other form (S-isomer).
The artwork aims to depict the two forms of Thalidomide as highly similar but different, represented by mirror images with different sets of colours. The R-isomer and S-isomer are shown on the left and right sides, respectively. As mentioned earlier, the two forms of Thalidomide differ in their three-dimensional orientations. Thalidomide is depicted in two parts, with the lower half reflecting its original chemical structure and the upper half reimagined in a two-dimensional representation inspired by Joan Miró's “The Garden”. The difference in the two forms of Thalidomide lies in the opposite directions in which the bottom halves point. To accentuate this difference, the Carbon-Nitrogen bond of each form is depicted with a characteristic line. The Carbon-Nitrogen bond of the R-isomer is represented with a solid line, and the bond of the S-isomer is in a dashed line. The choice of solid and dashed lines is based on the dash and wedge projections frequently used to illustrate three-dimensional chemical structures. By highlighting the difference between the two-dimensional skeletons of the structures as the Carbon-Nitrogen bond, the artwork aims to demonstrate how a minor difference can result in contrasting effects, which is represented through the use of colours. The colours were chosen to represent the medicinal effects of both forms of Thalidomide. The R-isomer is represented with colours inspired by Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Red Blue and Yellow”. In contrast, the S-isomer is represented with a different set of colours. Light shades of pink and blue were chosen to mirror the colours of the Birth Defects Awareness ribbon. The light shade of yellow was intended to complement the pink and blue.
In conclusion, this art aims to highlight the importance of stereochemistry by visually representing the two forms of Thalidomide as mirror images with similar skeletons, while differing in colors and lines.
Here is a short write up on the work describing the idea and concept behind.
The work aims to illustrate the importance of stereochemistry using the chemical Thalidomide as an example. Thalidomide is an oral medication first prescribed in West Germany in 1957 for insomnia, morning sickness and anxiety. A few years later, it was discovered to have caused a significant amount of birth defects in infants when consumed during pregnancy, affecting approximately 10,000 babies, of which 40% did not survive. Subsequent research showed that Thalidomide exists in two forms (isomers) instead of just one, where they differed in their three-dimensional orientations.
This concept is known today as Stereoisomerism, where two forms of the same molecule (enantiomers) appear as mirror images of each other, but are non-superimposable. Enantiomers exist as racemic mixtures, where each form is present in equal amounts in a mixture. An analogous example is our left and right hands, which appear as mirror images when palms are placed together, but neither can be perfectly overlapped when observed from the back of the hands. Due to the seemingly small difference in orientation, the two forms of Thalidomide had drastically different pharmacological effects, where the positive effects of one form (R-isomer) were masked by the negative effects of the other form (S-isomer).
The artwork aims to depict the two forms of Thalidomide as highly similar but different, represented by mirror images with different sets of colours. The R-isomer and S-isomer are shown on the left and right sides, respectively. As mentioned earlier, the two forms of Thalidomide differ in their three-dimensional orientations. Thalidomide is depicted in two parts, with the lower half reflecting its original chemical structure and the upper half reimagined in a two-dimensional representation inspired by Joan Miró's “The Garden”. The difference in the two forms of Thalidomide lies in the opposite directions in which the bottom halves point. To accentuate this difference, the Carbon-Nitrogen bond of each form is depicted with a characteristic line. The Carbon-Nitrogen bond of the R-isomer is represented with a solid line, and the bond of the S-isomer is in a dashed line. The choice of solid and dashed lines is based on the dash and wedge projections frequently used to illustrate three-dimensional chemical structures. By highlighting the difference between the two-dimensional skeletons of the structures as the Carbon-Nitrogen bond, the artwork aims to demonstrate how a minor difference can result in contrasting effects, which is represented through the use of colours. The colours were chosen to represent the medicinal effects of both forms of Thalidomide. The R-isomer is represented with colours inspired by Piet Mondrian’s “Composition with Red Blue and Yellow”. In contrast, the S-isomer is represented with a different set of colours. Light shades of pink and blue were chosen to mirror the colours of the Birth Defects Awareness ribbon. The light shade of yellow was intended to complement the pink and blue.
In conclusion, this art aims to highlight the importance of stereochemistry by visually representing the two forms of Thalidomide as mirror images with similar skeletons, while differing in colors and lines.
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