afmsoundplusalllayers

pleased with this iteration of the video work - the sound from spiral scratching plastic from observing AFM matches the crystal structural imagery from the negative spaces work - all good.

e m p t y s p a c e i s r e v e a l e d

The latest series of pieces explore and in some way expose the 'empty space' that is revealed. After being poured and set plaster is taken out from the cardboard mould, often too early as I am in too much of a hurry to see the results. Next the initial wax form is removed from the plaster, thus the space (wax) within the space (plaster), sitting within the initial space (cardboard) is revealed.  

startingpointstothinking

There are endless starting points for lines of enquiry, almost to the point of becoming overwhelming. Using the lab based experimental science practice I have been exposed to as a starting point I have created a number of experiments which have manifest themselves within an array of outcomes - films, objects and prints. The flow diagram explains some of the thinking and lays out the order of activity.

From observing the hand movements within the lab when explaining scientific processes I had developed a number of articulated structures that were to be manipulated in the hand.

Electron microscopy sets out to map surfaces by 'firing' matter at the material they are investigating, the evidence of this activity is mapped. Extrapolating the space between surface and probe provides data to make sense of the surface.

I am currently following a line of enquiry that looks at this space between, making physical something that cannot be seen by casting the negative space of the folding structures that explored the hand gestures, fixing a moment in time.

I have developed the articulated structures into static 3D forms by fixing the shapes, transforming the nets into boxes and casting their internal spaces. I have been looking at casting the space around the negative forms so that the 'empty space' is revealed.

theabsenceofsomethingdoesnotmeanthereisnothing

A day at Laurence Edwards studio last week casting empty space - 

the absence of something does not mean that there is nothing.  The current question is to think about what effect this space or nothingness has on the material one is looking at. I continue to be fascinated by the idea of the forces around and within us that we are unable to see, feel or most of the time envisage. This is both a physical idea and a psychological concept. How theoretical and philosophical thinking is underpinned by science is something I hadn't fully comprehended or if I did I would of being unable to articulate this thought.

There is a continuous sense of observing one element of an issue only to miss another important aspect and of course I would need to define the role and factors that determine important to continue this conversation. The defining of thoughts and intentions have become both rigorous and all expansive simultaneously. 

listening to the podcast invisibilia - I came across work undertaken by Professor Adam Galinsky including his thoughts on enclothed cognition - Do clothes affect how people think and behave? My earlier thoughts about the lab and the items worn within came back to me. These led to the creation of capes and the question - Could an improvement in thinking/creativity take place if Art Capes were worn? http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103112000200 there might actually be some science supporting this thought/feeling, although the painter = nuts hypothesis is a little alarming!

AFMsoundscratch

one of the early ideas I had in this project was inspired by an AFM practical - the process and the idea of playing the surfaces (the materials resemblance to the surface of the groves in a record was the obvious starting point, that and a 'giant' needle). today I was looking at the surface of plastic - thinking about reflective surfaces - noticed the shadows - the scratches - started making marks - which turned into circles - which then found itself on a record player - which were then played - recorded - and slightly played through effects - an hour later and we have made sound - next stage to think about matching it to videos and possibly thinking about more marks and the physicality of sound. that the act of defining measurement is determined by the speed of sound - there is something here about space.

visibilityandtransfer

the poster for the Maxwell Open Day and some images from the Nano evening...thank you Philipp - ideas around the outreach and community engagement element of the project are progressing. I'm talking at the Making Materials Matter Science Teachers Conference around new materials about my experience with nanoDTC http://www.materials.ox.ac.uk/admissions/schools/teacher-events.html the open day at the Maxwell delivered many conversations http://www.maxwell.cam.ac.uk/maxwell-centre-annual-research-showcase-2017 I'm hoping that positive meetings with Cambridgeshire Festival Bridge, STEM and Cromwell Community College will lead to practical workshops. Just recounting the various contexts where I have talked about the project over the past month; Make:shift conference in Manchester and a Lecture for OCA MA Fine Art students spring to mind. 

listeninggogogoandtalking

so much has happened over the past few days - I have had wonderful conversations with a huge number of professors, supervisors and a range of students in wide ranging fields that have taken me to a vast range of theoretical places.

I gave a presentation to the Nano Society  https://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/seeing-is-disbelieving which seemed to go down well with lots of comments and questions in the break. The 'art' approach to the world of 'science' is much appreciated and I feel I am achieving a sense of real engagement with what I am offering. My poster for Fridays open day - The Maxwell Annual Showcase looks good and I'm creating a workshop for year 1 students tomorrow around the idea of the experiment.

structuredialoguewithhandobjectlayered

The admin stage is upon me - I'm in the middle of organising the community engagement part of the project. Within the residency an element is sharing the learning that I have been involved in so far. One strand is looking at how to talk
about Science through the creation of Art. My own science education was not good so hopefully I can find ways to engage better with the past me when I meet them. Meanwhile I am continuing to work on bringing together the physical and the digital.

structuredialoguewithhandobject

building on a visit to Material Science (Crystallography) and conversations with some of the science people I have thinking about the mapping of 3D spaces. By creating the digital shape within SketchUp that was derived from the negative space within the initial folding structures I found myself visualising a structure initially created from observing hand movements. Juxtaposing it with film of a physical handheld piece creates a dialogue between the digital and the physical.