Art & Science Journal

In her artistic work, Beverly Fishman explores our relationship with technology. Pill Spill, her most recent project, explores our relationship to drugs, and our vulnerability in that relationship. This work is made of 90 glass capsules whose psychedelic patterns are inspired by the drugs made to alter our moods. This piece points out that medicine can be both a cure and poison. This ties into Fishman’s view of human nature. Humans think that we’re the inventors, but in this case the technology changes us, not the other way around. Fishman’s work poses the big question: whose in control?

For more information on Pill Spill click here. To visit Fishman’s portfolio website click here.

[image credit - Galerie Richard]

Todd Johnson’s Shockfossils are works of art created with a particle accelerator. As Johnson describes the process (and get ready for it, it’s scientific), “The accelerator produces up to five million volts and is used to accelerate a beam of electrons. The electrons are fired at pieces of acrylic plastic and penetrate deep within the slabs, resulting in a pool of electrons trapped under tremendous electrical potential. The trapped charge is then carefully released by applying mechanical shock with a sharp insulated tool, and the electrons escape with a bright flash and loud pop. As the charges leave the plastic, they gather into channels following fractal branches rules just like river deltas, plants, and capillaries.”

This intensive process is all conducted at an industrial accelerator facility. The energy of the process determines the shape and character of the final artwork. A beautiful mix of nature and science; to see more of Johnson’s Shockfossils click here.

[image credit - Todd Johnson]

Afterzine is a biannual arts and culture journal, curated by Hamish Robertson, featuring a collection of invited works upon dictated themes. This issue’s theme was coincidence, and was a cool change from the first issue. In terms of structure, rather than using last issue’s magazine format, Robertson switched it up to newsprint. The graphic design throughout is impeccable and the content is a mix of artworks, illustrations, interviews, and statements on the issue’s theme, coincidence. The issue is heavily based on talent from Los Angeles. As Robertson states, “What began as a single-section issue with invited interpretations of “coincidence” by chance evolved into an exploration of the city of Los Angeles — a place I had mistakenly assumed to be lacking in happy accidents.” From the zine it’s obvious Los Angeles has a lot to offer! I’d recommend picking up this issue for a new experience of newsprint and the themed perspective.

For more information on Afterzine click here.

[image credit - Nancy Jones]

[Photo Friday is a weekly column on Art & Science Journal featuring upcoming photographers. To submit your work email LeeJones@artandsciencejournal.com]
Sean Chilibeck of Art and Math uses photography as a way to avoid a habitual life. As he states, “I don’t want to live by habit. I don’t feel like I’m living when I do. I want to do something real, and I’m always trying to bring that into my photography, through both the emotion in the subject matter and in the physical sense of the image process.” With his camera, Chilibeck explores the outer world and inner spaces. “Self-reflection has a huge influence on both my work and my life. I’m constantly in search of my own identity.”

One part of this self-reflection is his self-portraits. “[I feel as though] I only imperfectly understand myself, and I think that the inflection involved with self-portraits helps me to better comprehend my own thoughts. With self-portraits I try to bring them to the surface.”

In terms of materials, Chilibeck uses a lot of them. At the moment he is using a Hasselblad EL/M, with a Zeiss 80 mm T lens, along with a bunch of other 35mm cameras. He uses Illford film for his black and white shots and does all the developing and printing at home.

Currently, Chilibeck is studying Environmental Engineering at the University of Guelph and brings his camera with him wherever he goes. This week he is heading to Peru to help out at an orphanage, and there will be loads of great shots when he gets back.

To check out Art and Math click here.

[photo credit - Sean Chilibeck]

Jean-Sébastien Rochon makes art about the relationship we have with the natural environment. As he describes his work, “I’ve always tried to portrait this coexistence [between us and nature] by showing different transformations, but without photographing people. I try to represent ourselves through the landscape.”

One of the best examples of his work is the photo above, part of a series about how we are overcome by the natural landscape. As he describes the project, “I ended up photographing roads and houses in specific locations where there were no other light sources. As a result, the constructed elements seem to be lost and overpowered in an environment we thought we controlled.”

Another strong example of his work is the piece below, a black and white photograph showing the construction of the highway 50 near Thurso outside of Gatineau. “The left side of the print shows a forest and the right side is piles of concrete. The two independent subjects divide the space in half as if they were confronting each other. Thus, the scene shows exactly how we transform the shape of the landscape to our own needs.” These images, by showing our interaction with the landscape in two different ways, demonstrate the tensions and complexities that run throughout Rochon’s work.

In terms of materials, Rochon uses digital photography. “I use digital photography as a open window to expose an immediate situation that has a real impact. So far, this medium has been the most appropriate way for me to express these ideas. Photography leads out gaze to specific moments and places by becoming the witness of our behaviours towards the environment, and towards ourselves at the same time.” He uses a process he terms “hybrid photography” by scanning the negatives in order to have good quality photographs with minimal editing.

At the moment, Rochon is working on reproducing the interaction between photographer and what is being photographed. He has created panoramas and recorded the sound of a photoshoot, from when he took out the tripod to when he left the location. As he describes his project, “I hope viewers will feel as if they were with me the day I photographed the space. I’m trying different methods of recording and presenting my work.”

At the end of this semester he will be participating in the U Ottawa Grad Show, so be sure to check it out. For now, you can see more of his work by clicking here.

[image credit - Jean-Sébastien Rochon]

Sean Avery, an illustrator and artist from Perth, Australia, makes sculptures of animals using fractured cds. When asked about his sculptures, Avery, who has been building them since he was 15, states, “I’ve always been fascinated with the way light and colour reflects off a disc. I’ve never found any other material to match it.” In terms of process, each creature starts as a wire mesh armature that Avery shapes with a pair of pliers. Then he cuts up as many discs as he needs with a pair of kitchen scissors, arranges the shards accord to size and colour, and then attach them to the frame using a hot glue gun. His process is very meticulous. As he states, “I arrange [the shards] in a natural fur/feather pattern so the creature looks strangely organic with a distinct sense of movement. I have made sculptures that contain as many as 300 discs and have taken more than a month to complete.”

This ability to show the movement of scales, fur and feathers is what makes Avery’s work so successful. Any other subject matter just wouldn’t be the same. “Animals are much cooler than people or inanimate objects.” For what he’s doing, I’d definitely agree.

Currently, Avery is gearing up to launch his lated book, All Monkey’s Love Bananas, due to release March 15th. He also continues to create sculptures and is working on illustrations for his next book.

To see more of Avery’s work click here to visit his portfolio site.

[image credit - Sean Avery]

[Photo Friday is a weekly column on Art & Science Journal featuring upcoming photographers. To submit your work for consideration email LeeJones@artandsciencejournal.com]

Cléo S.P.’s Fortune Camera begins with her own fortune telling, “You have unusual equipment for success: use it properly.” With a camera and an eye for images, Cléo takes us on a journey through the obscure moments of her life, and makes them beautiful with her lens along the way.

When asked about the subject matter of her photos, she states, “I like to take photos of things that seem indifferent to others, but when I get my film developed I’m instantly amazed by how it turned out. It’s like my eye is secretly pointing me to a magical picture.” The photo above is her current favourite. “I love the colours, the details, and at the same time the blur that goes off into the distance. The fish-eye effect in the golden bell is also perfect. It describes to me the perfect day of biking in the park and lounging in the sun (which is what Australians do every single day). Life is good!”

Currently living in Melbourne, Australia, Cléo finds herself inspired by the city. “There’s art everywhere you look. From the graffiti on brick walls, the poems in random alleyways to the pop-up art shows and vintage markets. I’m inspired in different ways every time I get out of my house.” For this reason she takes her camera with her wherever she goes.

In terms of equipment, Cléo brings with her a Minolta XD11 with a mega lens that cost her a fortune, but is worth every penny. Though she takes both digital and film shots, Fortune Camera focuses on her film photography. “I prefer the mystery and suspense of getting a film developed and the surprises that come along. I get stoked!” Currently, she is developing a film a week.

Just as her fortune foretells, Cléo, with her talent for finding images in obscurity, continues to create beautiful photographs. Like the lure of a fortune unread, visit Cléo’s site to get your dose of Fortune Camera.

Click here to visit Fortune Camera, and here for Cléo’s Flickr.

[image credit - Cléo S.P.]

PressPausePlay is a film about today’s to-it-yourself culture and its impact on creative production. It discusses the possible effects of democratized art, such as what does it mean if anyone can do anything. If everyone can create youtube videos, websites, photographs, then how does the good stand out? Though both sides are presented, the yays and the nays, the film is overall optimistic. If anyone can make art, then a lot of people who previously wouldn’t have had the resources to survive in an elitist industry now can.

The film is also a great source for discovering more about the viral aspect of the web. A lot of great thinkers are introduced throughout the film, including Seth Goldin whose book Unleashing the Idea Virus is free to read online. The film itself is free to watch online through vimeo, or by watching below, and really says something about an open-access culture. Check the video out for yourself, and add to the discussion.

[PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.]

Just got The Transcribed Photographs from Venus (the pseudonym used by Jess Petrella) in the mail recently. It’s a unique project where, instead of showing us photos, Petrella describes scenes for us to imagine. The project was inspired by Petrella’s process of writing down the photographs she wanted to take. As she states in The Transcribed Photographs, “I would write down the descriptions of the idea in my mind, but a photograph would rarely eventuate. I found an effectiveness in the descriptions, there was an imagined visual to go with everything I was writing.”

Another bout of inspiration came when she recalled an article about an exhibit that could be attended by the visually impaired. Beneath each work of art was a description in Braille that would allow the blind to “see” the image. Through this process of imagining we ultimately create the picture we want to see, which is the goal of this project. As Petrella states, “Our minds are the true image makers.” To see more of The Transcribed Photographs and her other projects, click here.

[image credit - Jess Petrella]

Jeannie Phan is an illustrator with an interest in the human body. As Phan states, ” I like to take the human body and try to bend and distort it in ways that aren’t beyond physically impossible while creating interesting shapes.” With this interest, she focuses on all the tiny aspects of the body. “My work pays homage to all things teeny tiny that work together to birth something new.” In her work she likes to use the smaller details to build up specific forms, such as strands of hair that together act as a new living entity.
Phan’s focus on hair runs throughout her work. As she describes this focus, “I enjoy drawing hair because it’s so meticulous and organic. It moves like fabric but acts like pools of water in some ways. I’m someone who likes to be consumed in the details.” This is part of what makes her works so appealing. Her works feature hair pouring out of every orifice of the human body, an effect that repels while it attracts.

Currently an illustration student at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Phan’s works are dark and elegant. As she states, “ I don’t like to be one extreme or the other — strictly beautiful or strictly dark. My work tries to be a balance of multiple facets of human behaviour, though not necessarily with human subjects.” Phan finds that viewers react well to her subtle use of the grotesque, which only makes her want to push it further. When asked about how she creates this effect she states, “I think to have a successful piece that gives you both a creepy chill but still engages the audiences is all about taking parts of fantasy and anchoring them with reality. What I mean by that is to take something we’re familiar with and quirking it in a slight tasteful way so that it is both recognizable and foreign. ”

To visit Phan’s portfolio website click here.

[image credit - Jeannie Phan]

[Photo Friday is a weekly column on Art & Science Journal. Gracie Jones is the second installment of this series. To submit your work for consideration email LeeJones@artandsciencejournal.com]

Gracie Jones’s work is concerned with how we see the world. Many of her images, with their layers of lenses and glass, reflect the process of photography as a medium. Currently studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design, 21-year-old Jones uses the glass to create a sense of intimacy with her subjects; as opposed to the historical dynamic of photographer as voyeur. Significantly, Jones’s work benefits from her close relationships with her subjects, such as her well done Sisters series.

At the moment Jones is working on introspection. As she states, “I have been photographing, in-depth, my 90-year-old grandmother and a series on my best friends. I have this deep desire to be more personal with my subjects, photographing those who I know will really let me in.” This is an important element of her work. Rather than force her way in, Jones’s chooses subjects who look natural and comfortable in their setting. They even smile.

In terms of technique, the softness of Jones’s photos comes from her choice of lighting. As she states, ” It is all about light for me. You just have to find that one spot in the scene where the light perfectly sits on the subject, and that is where I go.” Jones is currently using a Fujica ST705 35 mm camera and CVS colour film, which helps to create the warm and grainy feel of her photographs. In terms of editing, when Jones edits she does a little brightening or slightly adjusts the warm/cool tones depending on the mood of the photograph. To see the results of her work, click here to visit her website.

[photo credit - Gracie Jones]

Janet Tam began her undergraduate studies in Biomedical Sciences at Guelph University, and then moved over to Fine Arts to create an artistic vision of what she saw. Because of her experience, her work is a balance of art and science. As she states, “In my art practice I am able to think about science from a more visual standpoint, and visual language from a more scientific viewpoint.” Tam tries to take the complex languages of math and science, subjects often deemed sterile and disjointed from the world of expression, and show that beauty can be extrapolated from these systems.

Juxtaposition and balance are major elements of her work. As Tam states of her materials, “I enjoy creating works that appear simple, yet intricate; invisible, yet visible. My medium is usually cut paper, influence by traditional paper-cutting of Taiwan, and a monochromatic motif, endowing a greater visual role to the shadows these images create.” Currently, Tam is working on prototypes of cut paper, dealing with science on a more molecular level, that will inform her in situ Grad Show at the University of Ottawa. She’s hoping that by creating a large scale work that is site-specific it will make the pieces more of a tragedy because of the intricacy involved in the process, and how quickly it will be dismantled. To see more of Tam’s work, and to learn about the Grad Show happening later this semester, click here.

[image credit - Janet Tam]

Anthony Mattox’s series Neuron Fractal was made with computer script. As Mattox states of his use of computers to create organic-looking pieces, “Computers are often considered the antithesis of organic growth, however, their incredible ability to replicate such processes seems to be the very nature of object oriented programming. The complexity that can be formed from such simple rules and patterns continues to amaze me.” Mattox’s images don’t look like hard fractals. As one commentator said, they look like fuzzy dandelions. Overall, the organic nature of Mattox’s work looks uncanny; it looks real but we know it’s not quite. For more information on Anthony Mattox’s work click here.

[image credit - Anthony Mattox]

[Editor’s note: Every Friday we will be interviewing prominent photographers as a new addition to Art & Science Journal. Lindsey Fast will be the first of many. To submit your photos to Art & Science Journal email LeeJones@artandsciencejournal.com]

What drew me to Lindsey Fast’s photos is her use of spatial environments. Whether it be architecture, underwater, or open fields, Fast creates works where humans bend to, or get lost in, their environment. When asked about the subject matter of her photos Fast states, “I like to play with light and setting to create a narrative of intrigue.” Her works feature protagonists lost in their surroundings, their stories.

A large element of Fast’s work is her focus on the female presence. Her characters are timid, leaning, or missed. Her works play within the constraints of fashion photography, but it’s unclear whether they aim to question or fulfill those norms. With her search for a “strong feminine presence,” the answer appears to be the latter.

Currently attending Corcordia University in Montreal, 19-year-old Fast continues to work on her photography practice. She uses a variety of cameras including a Minolta Maxxum 800si 35 mm SLR, an antique Mamiyaflex, a Canon EOS 40D digital SLR, and a variety of polaroids. In terms of editing, she scans her negatives and then tones down the colours. To see more of Fast’s photography click here to visit her website.

[image credit - Lindsey Fast]

Lisa Nilsson’s Tissue Series involves anatomical cross sections created with paper. As Nilsson describes how she created this series, “These pieces are made of Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books. They are constructed by a technique of rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper called quilling or paper filigree.” The technique came into practice when Renaissance nuns and monks recycled the gilded edges of worn out Bibles. The technique has a long history, but it presents the inside of our bodies very well. As Nilsson states,” I find quilling exquisitely satisfying for rendering the densely squished and lovely internal landscape of the human body in cross section.”

As I discovered from Gizmodo, Nilsson begins her work by looking at a real photo of the inner landscape and then begins to curl her paper using whatever cylindrical object she has including drill bits, needles, pins and dowels. Another interesting part of her work is that many of them are surrounded by “cases” which can fold so you can carry the work with you. Portable like a book, Nilsson’s pieces also acts like books in being both accurate and informative. For more information on her work click here to visit her site on the series.

[image credit - John Polak]