One of the vases by artist Barthélemy Toguo on display at the Institut Pasteur

The "Organoid" project, launched in 2014 by the artist Fabrice Hyber and the Institut Pasteur with the support of the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, was set up to offer a new perspective on scientific activities through the creation of original, compelling artworks that portray the challenges of biomedical research. The project soon caught the eye of a number of artists, including Barthélémy Toguo.

This French-Cameroonian artist took the opportunity to meet several of the Institut Pasteur's scientists and chose to focus in particular on the research being carried out to tackle HIV and Ebola. Barthélémy Toguo was nominated for the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2016 for his installation Vaincre le virus, featuring 18 huge porcelain vases decorated with representations related to the two viruses, as well as a large lab bench containing 3D impressions of cells. As Barthélémy Toguo explains: "I designed an installation that would celebrate the intense research being carried out to combat two viruses that currently represent a major threat to Africa and the entire planet: HIV and Ebola. I wanted to pay tribute to the scientists devoting their time and energy to this work." The resulting artwork led to an exhibition at the Pompidou Center from October 2016 to January 2017.

One of the artist's vases was recently installed on the Institut Pasteur campus. Olivier Schwartz, scientific coordinator of the project, was in attendance to see the work being unveiled in the CIS hall. Make sure you come along and admire this piece, a unique blend of science and art, on which the artist has represented himself alongside the representations of HIV.