Even plant cells can be art if seen under a microscope
Microscopes are magical portals to worlds too small to be seen with the naked eye -- to Rob Kessler, chairman of Arts, Design and Science at the University of Arts London, those "worlds" are plant cross-sections. Kessler has been observing plant cells and the patterns they make under the microscope for the past 10 years, as well as capturing their beauty on camera using a variety of microscropic techniques. His pictures (including the Primrose x-section above) look so vivid and jewel-like, because he sometimes uses as many as 500 shots to create a single composition.
At the moment, those compositions are displayed as humongous wall art at the ongoing Mi Pattern exhibit at the Lethaby Gallery in London's Central Saint Martins. You can also bring your own samples to the event, since there are a bunch of microscopes you can use there, even a Phenom scanning electron microscope, which magnifies objects up to 10,000 times. But if you're not in London and can't go, we're afraid you'll have to make do with browsing the colorful cross-sections online.
[Image credit: Rob Kessler / New Scientist]
