Helmholtz 2.0

Hermann von Helmholtz, (1821–1894) is often considered to be one of the last polymaths in science: the final incarnation of a time when the whole of science could be grasped […]

what4words

gut.place.belief.interact [Thought experiment for Creative Fellowship in the form of a Venn diagram, following a conversation with Steve, using a portait of John Venn. Don’t know what to make of […]

It

Things are moving on with the Creative Fellowship at University of Exeter. Here is a working drawing, entitled ‘It’, in the form of a mini-manifesto to the AMR network. I’m […]

God, azoles and rethinking the self

I wanted to find out what a philosopher could possibly be doing in the AMR network. Well, now I know. It is intriguing: turns out he is part of the […]

The gas man cometh

Amongst my parents’ small collection of LPs was this one. Aside from ‘Hippo Encore’ [Mud, mud, glorious mud] and ‘First and Second Law’ [of Thermodynamics], it was the song ‘The […]

Feeling the network

I love harmonographs. Place the tip of the pen on the paper and set the pendula in motion. Then watch in wonder as the drawing slowly reveals itself: a unique […]

Smash and grab

I’ve been trying to get my head around next-generation genome sequencing. How it has revolutionised our understanding of microbiomes. From what I can work out, somewhat similar to the arrival […]

One for every occassion

You might have an old wooden-handled hammer and offer it to three people: to the first, it is a useful tool for a spot of weekend DIY; to the second […]

Up close and personal

I really didn’t expect this. I always thought of bacteria as a crowd, a mass of cells that fermented or infected, never as individuals. But that is just what is […]

The eared one

I’ve been talking with some member of the AMR network, and came across this. I guess you could say that those blobs look a bit like ears, hence the name […]

Ambassador of One Health?

At this time, acutely aware of our own vulnerability to Covid-19, there is the faint hope that the pandemic might shift our attidude to the multivarious world around us: offering […]

Nothing’s separate anymore

I’m meeting it again, reading about the microbiome (this time fungi) and the author is telling me that we need to rethink how we think of ourselves: ditch the idea […]

Meshing a network

First time I’ve been artist-in-residence in a network*. So it got me thinking about what sort of place is a network; where do you look for the interesting stuff: along […]

A question of scale

Making the invisible visible is something that artists often attempt to do, as I have done in the past using different ‘beyond-eye’ technologies to reveal something new or beautiful. At […]

Into the microbiocene

Just getting started on research for my AMR Fellowship. It has been a while since I have come across a subject that gets the the core of things so quickly. […]

Searching for the +ve

Really happy to be starting a new project: a Creative Fellowship at the University of Exeter, part of the Arts and Culture programme. My fellowship is with the AMR network […]