The photomicrographs in these exhibitions illustrated some of
the marvellous crystalline and amorphous landscapes that can be
discovered when observing common medicines under a microscope.
Take a tablet of aspirin from your medicine cabinet, dissolve it
in water then crystallise a drop of this solution on a
microscope slide. When the slide is dry, place it under a
microscope and view it using polarised light. You may be amazed
at what you see!
Medicines are known (and usually consumed) for their
pharmaceutical, healing properties but what is less well known
is their ability to interact with and transform light to produce
deeply satisfying and inspiring vistas of colour and shape.
Most medicines contain several components in addition to the
active ingredients. As each component expresses its own unique
set of crystalline or amorphous signatures, the resulting
tapestry of form and colour leads the observer on a voyage of
discovery, surprise and delight.
Some medicines are derived from natural sources, others invented
by man in the pharmaceutical laboratory, but the atoms from
which they were formed and light which they are able to
transform, were created at the beginning of time. We are only
observers and manipulators of these elements.
Who can proclaim the mighty
Acts of the Lord
Or fully declare his praise?
Psalm 106:2
Derek Christie
