“Watermarks” presented by Tyurina
Anastasia Tyurina, Brisbane River, 2015, photomicrograph
Symposium:
Session Title:
- Science and Art
Presentation Title:
- Watermarks
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
My visual art project is concentrated in the specific area of scientific photography made by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), which has expanded the boundaries of observation and representation of the micro world since it was introduced to scientific research in the mid-1960s. I investigate how to interpret scientific images captured by the SEM of micro-scale drops of water from different aquatic systems after evaporation. I do so in an attempt to discover morphological features of the patterns related to water contamination and thus to turn scientific photography into a creative art form. Although scientific photography can be considered non-aesthetic since its main purpose is not to convey beauty but rather to convey accurate information, its ability to record material in addition to that which is merely informative allows it to also serve expressive, subjective and aesthetic purposes. Microphotography in particular has the potential to communicate to a general public from both a scientific and a cultural perspective. My artistic practice can be seen as rejecting the traditional practice of minimizing noise in scientific representation and, instead, embracing experimentation that encourages the unexpected over the predictable.
