CARNAL NATION

Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your HIV is? Have you ever wanted to cuddle up with herpes? Sexually transmitted diseases are never pleasant, causing great anxiety and social stigma in addition to their physical symptoms. It should come as no surprise that human nature would strive to recuperate the fear of them both through art and laughter.

British artist Luke Jerram has created a series of hand-blown glass sculptures of microbes, including HIV (pictured right), H1N1 influenza, and others. With these complex pieces, Jerram seeks to explore the ways that disease come to have meaning both in science and human understanding. In consultation with virologists from the University of Bristol, the artist and his assistants create designs from scientific photographs and then carefully blow the individual components for the final three-dimensional installation. Jerram describes his project as follows: "It's great to be exploring the edges of scientific understanding and visualisation of a virus. I'm also pushing the boundaries of glassblowing... So there's a very careful balancing act that needs to take place, between exploring current scientific knowledge and the limitations of glassblowing techniques." Watch a video of the artist at work after the jump.

For those wishing to take a less conceptual route to understanding and living with an STD, you can check out the plushie microbes from GiantMicrobes.com. They've got them all: HIV (pictured left), chlamydia, MRSA, syphillis, etc. The stuffed microbes come in two sizes, or you can order your very own petri dish with little miniature microbes that you can give out to friends and family. Just what they've always wanted!