Honey, she blew up the cells: Electron microscopes harnessed for show now on display in P.E.I. [Video]

At first glance, some of Kim Morgan’s artwork looks like a fantastical take on a science textbook.

There are large black-and-white photographs of blood cells. An 11-foot long sculpture of a skin flake flutters gently. An enormous sphere, like a beach ball, has its surface printed with an abstract pattern that turns out to be magnified belly button lint.

All were created using images generated by scanning electron microscopy, abbreviated as SEM.

“Technology enables us to see things that we couldn’t see before… That’s an opportunity to connect us to our bodies, to expand our knowledge about science and medicine and each other,” said Morgan, a visual artist and professor at NSCAD University in Halifax.

“That’s what ideally, I hope, people will get from this exhibition.”