bio art
The Undivided Mind
- Where Art meets Science!
The Undivided Mind, Art and Science residency at Khoj International Artists Association, from
March 7 to April 15, 2016, explored the distinct yet connected fields of art, science, health,
technology and design
BY BIOVOICE NEWS DESK
MULTIMEDIA
W
e often don’t come across
instances where creative artists
talk about science and scientists
known for their logical approach,
express appreciation of the unique display of
scientific models through art. However, the
bridging of this gap between two streams of
intellect happened recently at Delhi.
The seven artists, from India and abroad,
were selected through a competition and
brought with them different artistic insights
and expertise and a keen interest to
engage in a dialogue with scientists and
other practitioners of STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Medicine) and
social sciences.
The Open Studio Day at Khoj exhibited work
by Tyska Samborska (Poland), Gagan Singh
(India), Johanna Schmeer (Germany), Mohan
Polamar and Vivek Muthuramalingam (India)
22
BioVoiceNews | May 2016
A Must See Visual Tour!
Credits: Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance
Alexey Buldakov (Russia), and Sonia Khurana
(India). The artwork was presented as a
collection of photographs, videos, sculptures,
sketches and installations.
During the six weeks the artists explored
various science and health-related themes
ranging from, terrestrial and extra-terrestrial
experience of a four-armed human being,
“tub of loss” to experience the loss of body
(similar to in space), urban laboratory for
birds, wearable sculptures to protect from
air pollution and a body suit mimicking
microorganism invasion of our bodies. The
artwork also reflected on human conditions
such as abnormal perception
(schizophrenia) and hysterectomy.
During the residency, the artists also got the
opportunity to interact and engage in
conversations with social scientists, science
writers, philosophers and artists during a
two-day public lecture series that invited
eminent speakers such as, Anil
Ananthaswamy, Milind Sohoni, Bishnu
Mohapatra, Sanil V and Ashis Nandy who
touched upon answers to questions such as,
“how do these two cultures (of art and
science) define the mind, the self and the
other? How does the greater project of
science influence how we organize our lives,
our politics, society and culture? Can the
arts provide a critique of the scientific
endeavour or help express the cultural
ambivalence towards the promise that
science has offered?”
The Unidivided Mind, attempted to bridge the
gap between discursive fields of art and
science through the development of artwork
inspired by and which used concepts of
science and health, in addition to providing a
platform for conversations between the two.