Science Meets Street-Art

Back in 2015 I worked at a cafe within Australiuan National University, one of the best aspects of this job was the endless access to any number of streams of information. One of these streams poured into a chance connection with Lee Constable. 

At the time completing her Masters degree in science communication, Lee had a plan to extend science study to the public.

Public communication of any area is difficult without an air of relevance. Like in art with the visual landscape, science needs the connection to current interest if it stands hope of maintaining discovery well-into the future. The plan was for five artists to collaborate with corresponding scientific fields, developing a mural (below) to explain the valuable research being committed.

With an emphasis on movement, I paired with Lyle Roberts of the Engineering and Physics department, and began working.

Lyle is an eccentric human and personal friend, the first few sentances got the STAR WARS references out and death star became conversely a simultaneous thing of the future and past. Lyle developed Lasers that changed the altitude of orbit of the International Space Station, When I heard this I was confronted with the most overwhelming lack in caring.

It was as if I had just heard an Oscar speech, or Winston had drunkenly stamored by to granduer and success. I shared this with Lyle, it which point - through some discussion - we arrived at the conclusion that I simply could not concieve a way in which that affected me. I couldn't care.
That was until he mentioned the four billion dollars we spend every year protecting the station currently! 
It was this discussion that helped me to realize the importance of science and science communication. We as poeople don't know what it is, and we don't know how it affects us. And we, as artists, can explain this.

After a Successful first year - and Masters degree! - National Science Week came onboard and a real collaboration was born! Twice the size, and endlessly stronger!

For my second year of this part-artist/part-academic collaboration I was paired with Nuclear physics PhD Candidate Aqeel Akbar. Aqeel was using a range of tools to explore the inner workings of the nucleus. We used a cave analogy to explain the process, with flourescent waves of water luminating all surfaces it touched. Aqeel's work stood less for the immediate benefit of the world, instead contributing to the ever-expanding bank of knowledge at our scientists command. Thousands more words for the minds of the future to hold dear.

 

To the right was the end result of Co-Lab 2016
Special shoutout to Lee Constable and congrats on the seachange!