U2. Contexts
Artist: Wayne Binitie
During this semester, I have developed a deeper interest and understanding of the combination of art and science, as well as ecology and the environment.
In a lecture, I learned about a project by Dr. Wayne Binitie in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey. His project focuses on the Arctic and Antarctic. Studying ice cores provides a better understanding of our world’s past and future, such as predicting climate changes and sea level rise caused by global warming. He mentioned, “When the ice melts, the compressed bubbles inside release sounds. That is the air from past eras being freed. By observing ice cores, we can see weather changes and the atmosphere over thousands of years.” This explores our world’s past, present, and future. When we hold ice, the past history quickly disappears in our hands. He believes that artists and scientists have different ways of researching and exploring issues, and through science and learning, one can gain information from different perspectives. For Wayne, ice represents unspoken histories and stories written in ice.
Wayne Binitie’s work reminds me of Olafur Eliasson’s Ice Watch project held at Tate in 2019. In this project, besides raising awareness about climate change, time is also a crucial theme. The public witnessed the melting and disappearance of 15,000-year-old glaciers within a week. “Put your hand on the ice, listen to it, smell it, look at it—witness the ecological changes our world is undergoing. Distance and disconnection hinder us, making us numb and passive. I hope Ice Watch will evoke a sense of closeness, presence, and relevance, and a narrative that you can identify with and that engages all of us. We must recognize that we have the power to take individual actions and drive systemic change. Come touch the Greenland ice cap and be moved by it. Let’s turn climate knowledge into climate action” (Eliasson, 2018). “Change the narrative about climate in our minds and bring it emotionally into our bodies” (Yalcinkaya, 2018). This art project encourages us to turn climate knowledge into climate action. I was fortunate to see Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition, and I believe he is an artist who genuinely moves people to care about environmental issues. He makes an abstract concept tangible, allowing people to respond through touch, hearing, sight, and smell to understand a significant issue. When viewing his work, I reflect on what my artwork can bring to people. This is also a question I need to continue exploring in Unit 3.
Artist: Olafur Eliasson
Artist: Susan Aldworth
Susan Aldworth is an artist I discovered in the book “The Art of Science.” She has a strong interest in consciousness and self-awareness. In the book, her etching series “Brainscapes” caught my attention. The images in this series were obtained when the artist was allowed to observe the brain scans of thirty patients during her residency at the Royal London Hospital. She later presented these images using etching. “Brain scans are a new material for the artist—before this, the only way to see the brain was through dissection. Although these scans are anatomical, they seem to mark the interiority, the inner person. When people look at her etchings, they feel like they are looking at some phenomenon—consciousness” (Aldworth, 2020). In Susan’s practice, being an artist-in-residence in medical or academic environments is central. She said, “This environment allows her to access scientists, patients, healthcare professionals, as well as philosophers and art historians. Working in such environments enables artists to provide a non-medical ear for patients and staff.” Through the discovery of scientific images, the artist deeply explored and developed her research on “consciousness.”
Johana Love’s work has also profoundly influenced me. She explores themes of time, memory, and death through the study of dust. Her creations are linked to the scientific field. For example, she collaborates with senior scientists at the Natural History Museum in London and the Planetary Science Archive at University College London. She uses an electron microscope to examine dust samples collected from her old home in the center of Hamburg, Germany, forming the basis and development of her work. This results in grand and incredible presentations of her work.
Artist: Johana love
Through learning about the collaboration between these artists and the scientific field, I am fascinated by the different perspectives and methods of creation they have developed. This has given me new insights into the connection between art and science. “These seemingly diverse fields can not only nourish and sustain each other in terms of attitudes towards thinking about an object but also present and explore it in ways that might have never been seen before. Ideas and perspectives gained from observing biological entities artistically can allow scientists to ‘think outside the box,’ providing insights for re-evaluating previously hidden scientific attitudes” (Meyer, 2020). Currently, I am working on microscopic drawings, starting by looking for existing photographs, and this has already filled me with excitement about the imagery and creation process.