Two sculptures created by UNT M.F.A. student Phil Samson were installed in the SRB's foyer just before the new semester began. The sculpture called Miracle Grow is a stainless-steel metal shelving unit on which fluorescent acrylic plastic representations of Brachypodium distachyon and Arabidopsis thaliana plants at various stages of growth. Lights in the near UV spectrum illuminate the plants. This sculpture was inspired by the research and conversations Phil had with Jaime Barros-Rios, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Dixon lab, as well as Dr. Dixon. The second sculpture GMO non OMG 4 (oops) is a steel and acrylic plastic wall mounted abstraction of a multi-cellular organism."

On March 8th for the BDI Spring Seminar series, Phil will provide more insight into his creative focus on using the BDI's GM plant research as inspirations for his M.F.A. art. To view more of Phil's recent sculptures, see https://www.philsamsonstudio.com/home/sculptures-2017-current/. His Instigram ID is Phil.Samsonart.