Riddles of Form

'Riddles of Form', a new exhibition based on the University of Dundee Museum Collections and curated by Museum & Gallery postgraduate students from the University of St Andrews, is now running in the Tower Building.

The exhibition looks at how both artists and scientists make sense of the world around them through shape and form.

Combining works of art with scientific instruments and natural history specimens from the University of Dundee's collections, the exhibition demonstrates examples of the forms and shapes employed by artists, scientists, and living organisms, and tries to identify some links between their design.

Striking examples from a series of prints by renowned pop-artist Eduardo Paolozzi are displayed alongside more recent works by graduates and staff members of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Newly-acquired works by local artists Delia Baillie and Jan Hendry as well as recent graduates Gemma Stephenson and Michael Whittle illustrate these artists' individual ideas and theories about shape and form.

Among the scientific highlights are a series of stereometric mathematical models in plaster, paper and wire. These beautiful objects were used as teaching aids over a century ago to help students of mathematics to understand complex equations. They were mass-produced without creative intention, yet are full of aesthetic beauty, blurring the boundary between a sculptural object and a scientific tool.

A variety of specimens from the Zoology Museum, including starfish, shells and coral, illustrate the incredible range and beauty of the forms and shapes adopted by even the simplest living organisms. Many of these were collected by Professor D'Arcy Thompson, and were used in the research for his pioneering study of mathematical biology, 'On Growth and Form'.

The exhibition runs until Saturday 11 March in the Tower Foyer Gallery. Admission is free. Viewing times are Mon-Fri 9.30am-8.30pm, Sat 9.30am-4.30pm.