This panel discussion, moderated by Stamps Gallery Director Srimoyee Mitra, brings together artists and theorists to explore questions and issues regarding the artistic, scientific and cultural imaging and imaginaries of biology including the biological grotesque, monstrosities, embryonic images, and biotechnological manipulation and its representations.

Featuring:

Dalila Honorato, Assistant Professor in Media Aesthetics and Semiotics at the Department of Audio and Visual Arts of the Ionian University, Greece Marta de Menezes, bio-artist and artistic director of Ectopia and Cultivamos Cultura Brad Smith, Professor, Stamps School of Art & DesignElona Van Gent, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Professor, Stamps School of Art & Design Dalila Honorato is a facilitator of safe spaces for hosting the interaction of ideas around liminal issues in the frame of Art&Sci. Her research focus is on embodiment, monstrosity, the uncanny and the acrobatic balance between phobia and paraphilia. She is Assistant Professor in Media Aesthetics and Semiotics at the Ionian University, Greece.

Marta de Menezes is a Portuguese artist (b. Lisbon, 1975) with a degree in Fine Arts by the University in Lisbon, a MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture by the University of Oxford, and a PhD candidate at the University of Leiden. She has been exploring the intersection between Art and Biology, working in research laboratories demonstrating that new biological technologies can be used as new art medium. Her work has been presented internationally in exhibitions, articles and lectures. She is currently the artistic director of Ectopia, an experimental art laboratory in Lisbon, and Director of Cultivamos Cultura in the South of Portugal.

Srimoyee Mitra is a curator and writer whose work is invested in building empathy and mutual respect by bringing together diverse works of art and design. She develops ambitious and socially relevant projects that mobilize the agency within creative practices and public audiences. Her research interests lie at the intersection of exhibition-making and participation, migration, globalization, and decolonial aesthetics.

Brad Smith’s work addresses imaging, and its impact on society’s understanding of the social, ethical, and political status of the embryo. Investigating visualization methods for cardiovascular development, he has established globally-adopted protocols for MRI imaging of embryos. He creates animations and graphics demonstrating developmental biology.

Elona Van Gent utilizes three dimensional computer technologies to investigate the metaphorical and morphological potential of hybrid life forms. Most recently she is focussing on the application of ornamental grotesque design strategies to create elaborate depictions of horrible and intractable (wicked) social problems such as poverty, war, environmental degradation, corruption, and inequality. Her work has been presented through exhibitions, guest lectures, and conferences worldwide. She is also currently serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Programs at the Stamps School of Art and Design.