Microcosms
This project explores the world of the microscopic, with the help of a scientist from the School of Life Sciences I was able to learn more about the process of microscopy and use a variety of microscopes and techniques to create new work. This project was based around an ammonite fossil and my fascination with its connection to an age long past in Earth's history. By photographing pieces of fossil through the microscopes, I was able to further explore this connection within geological time. The images produced, particularly those from an electron microscope, are suggestive of geological formations and landscapes, an observation that led me to become interested in themes of micro and macro. These images served as an inspiration for a series of prints, sculptures, and photographs exploring this concept of how we perceive our environment and how we negotiate our presence within it. The connection for me is 'how we look' - a process that spans all of art and science.
By incorporating myself with the projections of the microscope images I bring a human element into these imaginary landscapes, creating a relationship between fossilised time and our own transience. In so doing I hope to create a sense of human presence and intervention, reinforcing the idea of how we perceive the surrounding world in relation to our presence within it. This work focuses on the ambiguity of perception, an ambiguity that is mirrored in our own existence and place within the universe.
