Now, when I say “viral” here I don’t mean it in the way that overconfident marketing execs mean it, though these things could go viral all on their own and that would be pretty meta.

No, these awesome machine embroidered doilies are viral in as such that they are designs from artist Laura Splan based on viral structures such as SARS, HIV, Influenza, etc.

From Laura’s website-

Doilies is a series of computerized machine embroidered doilies. The design of each doily is based on a different viral structure. The lace doily has traditionally referenced designs and motifs from nature. Furthermore, these decorative objects would be heirlooms, handed down from one generation to the next. The work explores the “domestication” of microbial and biomedical imagery. Many recent events, epidemics, and commercial products have brought this imagery into our living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Bio-terrorism, SARS, and antibacterial soaps alike have all heightened our awareness of the microbial world. Doilies serve as a metaphor for the way we have adapted our everyday lives to these now everyday concerns. Here domestic artifacts and heirlooms manifest the psychological heredity of our cultural anxieties.

It’s interesting how much these remind me of these designs that are used used for tissue repair after surgery. Maybe there’s just something in the nature of the circular, organic shape? However one is designed to repair, and these, as the viral design would imply, would do the exact opposite.

You can see more of this project and more designs over on Laura’s website.

via Explore