Inspiration and Discovery

Leading contemporary artist and sculptor David Mach is to become the University of Dundee's first Visiting Professor of Inspiration and Discovery.

With internationally renowned expertise in life sciences and medicine, a top ranking art school, and strong links with DCA through the Visual Research Centre, the University has a reputation for excellence in both science and art. Now relationships between these two areas are to be enhanced by an exciting new project involving artists and scientists from across the University.

The project starts with a 'science meets art' symposium on 1 October at Sensation Science Centre, Dundee. Inspiration and Discovery: Engaging with Life Sciences Through Life Arts is designed to enable artists and scientists to familiarise themselves with each other's work and to stimulate interest, thought, debate and discussion leading to the creation of new works of art related to aspects of science.

Dundee alumnus David Mach, whose collages are featured in the new Playfair Project in Edinburgh and whose latest exhibition of collages opens in London on 11 October, will address the symposium's morning session. A number of DJCAD artists and life scientists will also present their work in a series of short showcase sessions.

The project has a longer-term element too, through the new role David is playing at the University. David will make a number of visits over the coming year to engage with the work of life scientists and artists with a view to developing ideas for a public work of art based on the life sciences.

Each visit will introduce Mach to key concepts, issues, imagery, data and visual vocabulary associated with life sciences topics as well as familiarising him with the campus and its planned development.

By allowing one of the UK's leading contemporary public artists to work one to one with scientists, and by giving him unique access to a new world of life sciences issues and imagery, the aim is to catalyse the process of inspiration and discovery.

Professor Pete Downes, Dean of the School of Life Sciences, commented, "You may think that arts and science occupy opposite ends of the educational spectrum, but bioscientists in Dundee have long recognised the artistic potential of organisms, cells and the molecules of life.

The appointment of David Mach brings together one of the UK's leading and most innovative artists with Dundee's world leading biologists. The outcome can't be predicted but the process will be both exciting and fun."

Dean of DJCAD Professor Georgina Follett welcomed the appointment, "David is an artist who challenges our visual perceptions through making the ordinary extraordinary. The opportunity to collaborate across the disciplines of science and art will open up a new visual vocabulary which I am sure will reveal the extraordinary, and bring this visual force into our everyday perceptions."

David Mach said, "This is going to be an incredible source of inspiration and discovery for me. The Life Sciences at the University of Dundee are so exciting I am sure I will be exposed to an unimaginable range of visuals and ideas. What luck to be involved in such a project."

To book your place at the Inspiration and Discovery Symposium on 1 October email b.m.smeaton@dundee.ac.uk