Chris Aldrich

"Looking at things from a scientific perspective, exactly *what* was her discovery? Perhaps that dried tears between a microscope slide and a coverslip all look different? That they're pretty? I could have told you that would have been the case before seeing any of her "results". So in this case there isn't any science at all. I can't make any future testable predictions based on her work. This piece is about art and art alone. To put things in perspective, to quickly calibrate my own microscope optics, I often take a quick swab of my own tongue or even my cheek to remove cells and saliva to put between coverslips. I'm sure based on what I've recently been eating, drinking, the general level of the "weather" in my mouth and dozens of other variables, the resultant slides all look drastically different - and many not too surprisingly different than those here. Generally I do this to have something "interesting" to look at while I calibrate and properly focus my microscope prior to..." - Chris Aldrich

"I've seen these photos in several outlets now. As a scientist who uses microscopes daily, I have a strong suspicion that there is absolutely no reproducibility whatsoever in her "experiments". Though there may actually be some chemical difference between several types of tears, I highly suspect their ultimate form as show has more to do with mounting and post-processing than any true difference between them. There is certainly some art, beauty, and poetry in her photographs, but let's not mistake this for science of any real sort." - Chris Aldrich