To mark the ten millionth vaccination in the UK, international artist Luke Jerram has now made and released a sculpture of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in glass.
The artwork, which is 34cm across, is 1 million times larger than the actual nanoparticle. Created from borosilicate glass, it is made from the same materials and techniques used in medical scientific glassware for test tubes and distilleries.
With five limited editions of this artwork being made, all profits from the sale of this new artwork are going to the global charity Médecins Sans Frontières to help communities heavily impacted by the pandemic.
Testing positive for Covid-19 in November, the artist says he’s still feeling the effects of the virus.
“When I created a sculpture of Covid-19 back in March, little did I know I’d later be among those to contract the virus. It’s an awful disease and two months on, my sense of smell is shot, I have tinnitus and still feel tired at times.
During my recovery, it became clear to me that my next artwork should focus on the vaccine, our way out of this global crisis, as a tribute to the scientists and medical teams who have been working collaboratively across the world to fight the virus.
“It’s brilliant that such effective vaccines have been created in such a short space of time and that here in the UK we’ve been able to roll them out so quickly. However, the fight against the disease is a global one, which is why I wanted to support Médecins Sans Frontières, through the sale of these sculptures.” Luke Jerram 2020
Back in March 2020, the artist made a sculpture of Covid-19, in tribute to the huge global scientific and medical effort to combat the pandemic. From the sale of these sculptures to private collectors, including a global rock superstar, and museums around the world over, £20,000 was raised for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who have been assisting developing countries deal with the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic. Photos of the artwork have also been used by academics and journalists across the world for science communication.
Press Coverage of this Vaccine artwork
The Guardian
The Telegraph
BBC Radio4 – Front Row
The I Newspaper
Berliner Zeitung
The Times
Forbes of India
BBC Online
ITV News
MSN News
Gizmodo
The Hindu
Irish Times
Works Available for Sale
Vaccine for Covid-19 (Giant 42cm)
Sold as Limited edition of 5