artworks

Penicillium

Juan Ferrer + Nicolás Oyarce
2016

An installation of decomposing oranges covered with Penicillium chrysogenum fungi (mold), which produces the well-known drug penicillin, described by Alexander Fleming in 1928 as a powerful antibiotic that has saved millions of lives since its discovery and use, thus changing the history of medicine. This piece is part of the Museum’s collection, since it plays the fundamental role of reminding audiences that fungi are nature’s decomposers of organic matter.