Nucleic Life Formation is a public artwork created by artist Amy Cheng and installed at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport Terminal 1 MetroLink station. Made of ceramic tiles and brass, the piece includes two murals with abstract designs loosely resemblinging the structure of a DNA double helix.

Nucleic Life Formation

Amy Cheng | 2014

St. Louis Lambert International Airport Terminal 1 MetroLink Station
Waterjet-cut ceramic tiles and brass
Mural above escalators: 22′ w. x 5′ h.
Mural adjacent to platform entrance: 13′ 6″ w. x 10′ h.

Nucleic Life Formation consists of two abstract mural designs.  Both designs are suggestive of striated nightscapes crossed by a constellation of “stars” that loosely mimics a DNA double helix.  DNA is the basis of all living organisms.  For as long as man has gazed up at the night sky, he has imaginatively formed constellations by connecting prominent stars.  Nucleic Life Formation suggests a universal connection between all living things micro and macro, the cells and the cosmos.  It is the artist’s hope that viewers find the murals visually delightful.  They were designed with a sense of play and a feeling of lightness.

Commissioned by Arts in Transit for Metro St. Louis with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).