FREQUENCIES | Summer Lecture Series 2018 at The National Sculpture Factory

The National Sculpture Factory is delighted to announce the line-up for this year’s Frequencies 2018 : Summer Lunchtime Lecture Series. Frequencies is the National Sculpture Factory’s Summer Lecture Series held every August.

Weds 1st Aug – Angela Gilmour (Artist)
‘Artist, Scientist or Researcher?’

Weds 8th Aug – Ian Brunswick (Head of Programming at Science Gallery Dublin)
INSTUMENTALISATION: How art and science use each other

Weds 15th Aug – Stephen Heaphy (Scientist in bioinformatics)
Lost in translation: protein synthesis in protists
Weds 22nd Aug – Siobhan McGibbon (Artist)
Xenophon: How did we get here?

Weds 29th Aug – Daniela Iacopino (Scientist & Nanotechnologist)
Nanotechnology and Art: Nanomaterials for Art Conservation and Preservation

Frequencies is the National Sculpture Factory’s Summer Lecture Series held every August. All lectures in this series are free and open to all and will take place in the Mezz on the Factory floor. Seating is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Angela Gilmour (Multimedia Artist)

Title : Artist, Scientist or Researcher?

When art and science interact how do you define the results? This lecture discusses the research and experiences of working in both disciplines and the attempts to label and define the practice.

Angela Gilmour is a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Ireland. She received an honours degree in Fine Art from CIT, Crawford College of Art and Design in 2015. Originally from Scotland, she previously worked as an engineer after graduating with an honours degree in Physics and a Masters in Science from the University of West Scotland. For almost two decades Gilmour worked in the Semiconductor Industry, primarily within the area of nanotechnology and crystallography, before immersing fully into a contemporary art practise Gilmour is currently a member of Backwater Artists Group and Cork Printmakers.

Ian Brunswick (Head of Programming, Science Gallery, Dublin)

Title : INSTUMENTALISATION: How art and science use each other.

Art-Science is more than a theoretical nexus ‚Äî both disciplines can be instrumentalised by the other, for better or worse. Speculative design and ‘bio-art’ have increasingly utilised the tools of science to create groundbreaking works, express new ideas, and question society’s relationship with technology. What are the different types of art-science interactions, and do they foster discussions or discord? Does the role of artist change when they delve into the realm of science? And how does society interpret works that are truly anti-disciplinary?

Ian Brunswick is the Head of Programming at Science Gallery Dublin, originally leading the Events Programme and subsequently holding positions including Exhibitions and Events Manager, Head of Programming and Acting Director. He has overseen partnerships with collaborators and partners such as the University of Cambridge, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the HRB and the Wellcome Trust. As exhibitions lead, he has been responsible for the development of programmes including ILLUSION, DESIGN AND VIOLENCE, IN CASE OF EMERGENCY and SECRET. At Science Gallery Ian spearheaded a community-oriented approach to programming that empowers audiences to participate in exhibition development and co-develop events. He is a member of the ECSITE annual conference programme committee, has been a jury member for the Bio-Art and Design Award, and has previously worked in media and founded multiple after-school programmes for young people. He holds a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MSc in Science Communication from DCU, and is a regular contributor to Irish radio.

Stephen Heaphy (Bio-informatician)

title : Lost in translation: protein synthesis in protists.

Proteins are fundamental to life as we know it. They consist of long chains of amino acids which then fold into various structures depending on function. The process of protein synthesis is known as translation and is facilitated in the cell by biological machines known as ribosomes. The rules regulating translation are common across all life forms and variations are extremely rare and often detrimental to an organism. Here I will present examples of variant translation mechanisms identified through genome analysis of marine protists such as ciliates and dinoflagellates.

Stephen recently graduated from University College Cork with a PhD in bioinformatics, a modern discipline combining genetics with computer science. The main focus of his research was analyzing the genomes of single cellular organisms known as protists for variations to protein synthesis in the cell. Stephen is the lead author of four scientific publications in the field of translation, including a research article in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. 

Siobhan McGibbon (Artist)

Title: Xenophon: How did we get here?

The future of the human species is an ever-expanding field, with the borders of the possible and the ethical being repeatedly redrawn and increasingly re-imagined. The Xenophon Project explores the liminal territory between the known and the unknown, the rational and the irrational, the real and the imagined. Visual artist and researcher Siobhan McGibbon will discusses how her practice led her to the water depths of the Xenothorpian world.

Siobhan McGibbon is an Irish visual artist interested in transdisciplinary practice, particularly the intersections between art, science and narrative. She works conceptually with sculpture, installation, drawing, animation and biomaterials.

McGibbon is currently undertaking a research led, practice based PhD in the ACADEMY research centre at Limerick School of Art and Design, where she is exploring the critical and creative potential of the hybrid model to explore the ramifications of medical science. In recent years McGibbons practice has been led through a through a series of unusual investigations and residencies in the in the sectors of anatomy, medical and biological exploration and centres of scientific enquiry.

Daniela Iacopino (Polymer Chemist & Nanotechnologist)

title : Nanotechnology and Art: Nanomaterials for Art Conservation and Preservation.

The talk will explore the fascinating properties of nanomaterials, the applications of nanomaterials in various sectors and the presence of nanomaterials into consumer products. The second part of the talk will focus on modern art materials/objects and their easy degradation and will explore how nanomaterials can be applied to their long term preservation and conservation.

Daniela Iacopino obtained her PhD in chemistry in 2000 from University of Modena (Italy). She subsequently moved to UCD (Dublin) as postdoctoral fellow in the chemistry dept. Since 2002 Daniela has been working in the Nanotechnology group of the Tyndall National Institute. Her research interest focus on synthesis and self-assembly of nanomaterials for sensing and diagnostic applications.