Halftone copper plates showing electron microscope images taken in the 1960s by a Scottish medical researcher are being ''morphed'' into art using an old Dunedin printing press.
For nearly 50 years, the plates have been sitting in storage at the University of Otago anatomy museum.
They were brought to Dunedin by University of Glasgow Regius professor of anatomy Dr George Wyburn, who spent two years in the mid-1970s working at Otago's anatomy department.
Museum curator Chris Smith said the plates were among storage items he saved from a rubbish skip during a clean-up of the museum about two years ago.
''I just saw these big packages all beautifully tied up with string and all the various aspects of customs declaration on there.
''They had never been opened. They just sat here in storage.
''They were sent from half a world away. You can't throw that sort of thing away without finding out what it is.''
Following some research, Mr Smith discovered much of Dr Wyburn's career was spent researching embryology with special reference to bone formation, the endocrinological aspects of reproduction, and tissue-grafting of skin, cartilage and cornea.
He was awarded the prestigious Struthers Gold Medal and Prize in 1939 for his embryological research, and again in 1947 for his work during World War 2 on regenerating injured peripheral nerves.
Mr Smith said many of the plates found at the museum showed electron microscope images taken by Dr Wyburn, of cells in the oviduct of domestic hens.
''They were using electron microscopy to look at how some of these cells are working at different stages of the egg's travel down the oviduct and how it's being developed.
''It could be looking at trying to decipher future genetic development for hens. Can we make an egg that is higher in some particular protein?
''This is an investigation into what all these cells are doing to allow the egg to develop and to have size, shape and nutritional value.''
Many of the electron microscope image plates have since been processed by Dunedin artist Lynn Taylor on a Vandercook printing press, in the university's Otakou Press Room.
They are now being turned into artworks.
She said the printed images looked a lot like aerial landscapes.
''I'm really interested in mapping.
''So I printed some on film and then I projected them on to a wall with an overhead projector, and that's when we got all these fascinating shapes like estuaries and rivers.
''Now I'm starting to print them over the top of old topographical maps to see what happens.
''I'm also trying to bring in the principles of printmaking - like reflection, rotation, overlaying and colour - to turn it into art.''
She planned to exhibit her artworks in Dunedin and Wellington, in October.
