Nanoscopic culture - art exhibition ::
Book launch and panel discussion, followed by reception
29 January 2004, 7-9pm
21 Abermarle Street
London, W1S 4BS
NanoScopic Culture is an exhibition in a book format. It includes specially commissioned work by seven artists (Dave Beech, Ansuman Biswas, Invertebrate, Janice Kerbel, Lucy Pedlar, Shellburne Thurber, Emily Wardill) who have all spent time over the last two years at NIMR, with a specially commissioned short story by Gabriel Coxhead.
The term NanoScopic comes from the apparently opposing ideas of Nano, a suggestion of something which is believed to exist, but is outside of our empiricle frame of reference and Scopic suggesting something which is visible. NanoScopic Culture proposes that the idea of trying to articulate abstract ideas or make the invisible visible can be applied to certain contemporary art practice as much as to contemporary scientific research.
NanoScopic Culture is a curated art book, not a catalogue of past art and science projects or an illustrated compendium to the latest scientific achievements. The book offers a different perspective from which to view the interface between art and science. It moves away from focussing on illustrating contentious topics within the biosciences and creates a space for contemporary art to exist outside of an autonomous art context.
Projects like Lucy Pedlar's Are You Here? or Shellburne Thurber's photographic series remain firmly rooted in the NIMR, the building, and the people who work here, while others such as Janice Kerbel's Coniferous Deciduous from her Studies for Small Islands series, or Emily Wardell's Example 10, hint at a more ambiguous relationship with the Institute. Resultingly, many of the works can be seen to be investigations into the culture of scientific practice and cultural representations of science.
A panel discussion entitled The Culture of Science will take place, with speakers Dave Beech (chair), Nick Crowe, Winstin Fletcher and Paul Khera.
NanoScopic Culture will be available at the book launch at a special price of £10.
Tickets for the Royal Institution event are £8/5 and are available by calling 020 7670 2985, or by visiting www.rigb.org.
For press information and images please contact Simon Gould:
Tel: 020 8816 2476
Email: sgould@nimr.mrc.ac.uk
[28 January 2004]