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SCIENCE & HEALTH
The University Observer | 13 November 2012
Observer Science The aesthitics of discovery
science@universityobserver.ie
With the increasing popularity of artwork that tackles scientific concepts, Emily Longworth speaks to scientist and photographer Pablo Rojas ahead of his upcoming exhibition in UCD
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magery has always been the currency of education; universally understood and immediately accessible, a huge part of our ability to understand a subject comes from visual interpretation. Conveying information through artwork has been done for centuries, but recently, with the exponential growth of visual communication and graphic design technology, the merging of scientific and artistic disciplines has come into a golden age. This month the Conway Institute will host Biophotologia, an exhibition by UCD graduate, microbiologist and photographer Pablo Rojas. From the 23rd to the 30th of November, images of research will be on public display, and the artist hopes they will succeed in engaging as many people as possible in the aesthetics of research. “I am aiming to state how fragile is the thin line that divides arts and science when it comes to images. My idea is to show people that such frontier is very variable and dynamic, and also that the constant friction that results from both sides can generate very interesting pictorial output and discussion,” Rojas says. Biophotologia will exhibit work from several of Rojas’ previous shows and collections. Having done a basic degree in Microbiology in Ecuador, and completing a Masters in Bacterial Epidemiology in UCD, Pablo Rojas is currently working on his PhD in Berlin. All of his studies have given him a good source for artistic material, and his images of Biofilms and microbial growths have been met with great response.
His exhibition emphasises the beauty in images that are often discarded in the research process. He describes the scientific perspective as one that has often ‘trained the eye not to see the beautiful’ when only looking for results. When the images are re-examined with different perspective, “the imaginative process shared by both disciplines where the conventional frontiers between them can no longer be traced”. The exhibition will feature photos of microbiology research, which include macro-lens depictions of colony growths in the lab. As well as human portraits created in an aesthetic experiment between volunteers and bacterial biofilm images, and several videos that creatively re-imagine diagnostic imaging. One of Rojas’ former exhibits, Zoonosis, is entitled after the term for infectious diseases that can be transmitted between species, and often from humans to animals or visa versa. “When it comes to things like microbiology or molecular biology, zoonosis is the actual gateway or bridge to when we start thinking about how microbiology links the animals to us,” Rojas says “And this basically relates to 15,000 or 20,000 years ago when we first started domesticating them and we started agriculture.” Many academics have responded to Rojas’ previous exhibits with technical feedback, and he finds that this “dramatically clashes with a more subjective feedback provided by others, where the interaction between aesthetics and science is celebrated.” He hopes
that the exhibit will give scientists a different perspective on the subjects they work with. “In some cases I have been asked if I can provide a copy for decoration. Interior designers have also showed interest in acquiring images from the collection.” A talk on the correspondence between scientific and artistic frontiers entitled ‘Progressive synergism between photography and microbiology, an aesthetic approach’ will be given by Rojas at the launch of his exhibit on November 23rd at 4pm in the Conway Institute. Rojas is excited for the exhibition, and explains how he thinks multimedia and photographer enable people to engage more with the research topics he uses in his work. “The microscopy experience still charms grown-ups and kids. Interactive installations where science remains as a vehicle through the cognitive experience can certainly improve the chances of understanding complex concepts.” Another supporter of art and science collaborations is Martin Kemp, author of The Human Animal in Western Art and Science. In fusions of the two disciplines “science becomes more accessible because it is “real” in relation to the art, not about abstract data. At their best, collaborations reunite things that have become radically severed.” Physicist David S. Berman maintains that theoretical physics and art share a common element: “They should provide a new way of seeing the world. Rela-
The Big Barnes Theory: Blueprint for a green future
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t’s often hoped that a future planet Earth might bring with it a society that is waste-free: a utopia devoid of garbage dumps, sewage outfall pipes or cellophane wrappers. It’s a concept that’s not totally alien to us present day humans, but which unfortunately hasn’t yet gripped society as pervasively as many wish. The term ‘Zero Waste’ has its roots in the 1970s, and was actually coined by a California-based company Zero Waste Systems Incorporated, whose
founders saw it as their mission (more for financial gain than anything else) to find a way to collect and sell on waste chemicals resulting from electronics manufacturing processes for reuse in other sectors of industry and scientific research. The philosophy of Zero Waste has snowballed since then, and now drives many of the most salutary waste management practices today, such as a recent push by General Motors to make half of its factories worldwide landfill-free. The general idea is a holistic
Ethan Troy-Barnes considers whether better design principles today might hold the key to a greener planet Earth in years to come
one of minimal impact, whereby the amount of resources consumed in both the manufacturing and use of a product is minimised and the human effort expended is reduced. Unlike recycling, which begins after the product is used and merely attempts to curtail waste production and reduce the consumption of new raw materials, Zero Waste advocates an approach which addresses the entire process of product design from inception right through to utilisation and then re-utilisation. The objective with
tivity and quantum mechanics are now as much a part of the cultural landscape as Shakespeare and Beethoven”. The revitalisation of science in artwork has become even more widely celebrated by the advent of the internet, although it has been around for as long as the research itself has. In Victorian times, diatoms (a kind of microscopic algae) were used to make miniature artwork. The colourful, geometric organisms were prepared in pretty arrangements on glass slides, and positioned with a single human hair as a pastime for Victorian people. Mathematical principles and geometric design has been a huge part of artwork throughout history since major developments were made during renaissance times. One-point-perspective dramatically changed the realistic appearance of paintings, which had
been largely two-dimensional before linear boundaries were applied. Effectively, artwork is the tool of the teacher, who adapts their message to be visually accessible. In the middle ages, religious theory was communicated to the lay person almost solely through imagery, which filled churches and cathedrals via sculpture. This aspect of scientific art has lead to the growing success of international science galleries in recent decades. More and more researchers are looking to merge their work with artists in the hopes of making it more understandable to the greater public.
Biophotologia takes place from November 23rd-30th in the main lobby of Conway Institute.
In Victorian times, diatoms were used to make miniture artwork
Zero Waste is to improve the design of a product so that a long-lifespan and reusability is built into the item from the start, unlike recycling which attempts to find a use for things after the fact. For example, instead of collecting waste paper cups and figuring out a way to reuse them such as for arts and crafts or to be processed into new paper, Zero Waste aims to redesign the cup entirely so that there is no opportunity for waste in the first place. This may involve designing a more durable cup made out of plastic instead of paper. As a result, each time a new cup is used, all that must happen is for the waste cups to be collected, washed and redistributed, rather than for new raw materials to be consumed and whole new cup to produced. In this way, the Zero Waste approach attempts to better engineer the world around us from the ground up, reducing our impact on the planet by creating products and services that are better fit for use. A good example of how Zero Waste applies to society in a non-industrial setting is seen in computing, where everyday tasks such as going to the bank can be carried out virtually by accessing an internet banking service. This reduces the energy consumed in travelling to the bank, as well as the materials consumed, as massless electrons are used, instead of massive carbonaceous materials such as paper, to document transactions. The current trend of a world whose industrial and social processes are becoming ever more computer-reliant is towards a society where a lot of things happen virtually, with the likes of paper books and chemical laboratories being replaced by tablet computers and virtual biochemical simulators. However, in ecological terms, the digital revolution also has its disadvantages. Moore’s Law means that computers are routinely evolving so fast that even the most cutting-edge digital technologies quickly become redundant, being replaced every few years not just by upgrades but quite often by totally new technologies. We can’t really plan for the future in such an un-
predictable domain, and to do so would be counterproductive. Likewise, in the area of implantable medical devices, the aim is to utilise technologies that are disposable in order to minimise the risk of inadvertently passing infections between patients. However, according to Zero Waste reasoning, the approach in such cases should be no different: devices should again be designed appropriately – by, for example, being made biodegradable – such that their temporary use leaves a minimal impact on their environment. Just this year, a research team at the University of Illinois announced the development of a biodegradable silicon chip. Professor John Rogers, head of the project, echoes the Zero Waste philosophy, explaining how, in the context of medical implants: “The ability to use materials science to engineer [appropriate] time frames becomes a critical aspect in design”. Designing a product correctly can turn a material that might normally last centuries into something that will decompose safely over weeks or months. The key in silicon’s case is simply to make the product ultra-thin: “If dissolution rates in the body are about a nanometre a day, a 20 nm thick sheet of silicon is gone in three weeks. So that’s what we made,” explains Rogers. In her novel The Female Man, Joanna Russ conceives of a future where humanity utilises technology in such a way that enables them to create a society that blends discretely with the world around it, metropolises and urban sprawl are replaced by highly efficient communities set inconspicuously into the oceans and jungles around it. While this might sound a tad extreme to some, humanity is getting better at engineering the world it inhabits. We’re already designing sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste pseudo-arcologies such as Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. A society that works with, rather than against, the Earth’s diverse and fragile ecosystem might be closer than we think.