Deborah Robinson, Artist in Residence
Contact: d.c.robinson@exeter.ac.uk
Funded by Arts Council England
Deborah Robinson was Egenis's Artist in Residence from April to September 2004 and in 2007. As an Associate Fellow she continues to be closely associated with Egenis, including as a co-organiser of the Centre’s ‘Art in the stocks, science in the dock’ series of public events.
The 2004 Artist in Residence appointment was a temporary post that attracted many applications from artists throughout Britain and beyond. The brief was to interpret and translate the work of the Centre in visual form. Deborah produced an online diary which is an illustrated guide to the journey towards her work, and gave seminars, including an online video seminar. She has written articles for academic journals as well as the Genomics Network magazine. Three of her mixed media pieces, (using lightboxes and illustrations from Darwin's original 'Origin of Species' superimposed over images of DNA marks on an electrophoresic gel) are exhibited at Byrne House, home of Egenis.
Professor Steve Hughes received a substantial grant from Arts Council England to support Deborah to continue her work in 2007. Her project was to develop imagery based on recording the overlooked - a kind of 'underside' - of science. Working in various laboratories (including Sanger) Deborah used a pinhole camera over long exposure times. The resulting images incorporate chance elements such as the trace of human labour in increasingly mechanised spaces. The work was exhibited in March 2007 at the ICIA. A further exhibition followed in August 2007 at the Exeter Phoenix.
Final pieceOnline diary
Artist in Residence
August 2006 - January 2007
www.alistairgentry.demon.co.uk
In September 2006, the Forum appointed visual artist Alistair Gentry to work with us in developing an imaginative and experimental arts project based on the relationship between genomics and society. As well as running a series of successful 'salon' style events, Science/Creation, Discuss/Disgust and Social/Science which brought together science practitioners, artists, social scientists, the media and public in conversation, Alistair created Three Times True a film animation that has turned the quadrangle at the heart of Edinburgh University's Old College in a giant triple screen work of art.
Three Times True was launched on Friday 19th January 2007, and was visible every night from dusk until the end of February. Alistair was interviewed about his film on BBC Radio Scotland's Radio Cafe (Monday 24 January 2007). A book of the same name, featuring ideas and images from the film, was published in June 2007.
This project was developed in partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s Talbot Rice Gallery.
