A February 24, 2026 notice (received via email and available here) from Toronto’s ArtSci Salon announces the opening,
CUM GRANO SALIS
March 4-28, 2026 Red Head Gallery 401 Richmond Street W
Opening Reception March 7, [2026] 2:00-5:00 pm
Stay tuned for other related events
Elaine Whittaker Matthew Borrett, Teri Donovan, Tracy Gorman, Kelley Aitken, Kaz Ogino, Heidi Breier, Kat Honey, Kai Kan, Kim-Lee Kho, Jim Nason.
Cum grano salis (Latin for ‘with a grain of salt’) is an expression of skepticism. In an era saturated with images, data, and competing truths, the potential for exaggeration and distortion is greater than ever. Doubt is integral to how we perceive and interpret the world today. We move continuously between trust and mistrust, truth and fabrication, constantly pausing to reassess what we have just seen, heard, or absorbed.
Cum Grano Salis invites viewers to enter a constellation of speculative worlds in which uncertainty is not an exception but a condition. Across installations, video, and mixed media artworks, Elaine Whittaker both curates and collaborates with ten artists to imagine what forms of life, survival, and coexistence might emerge on a rapidly changing planet. Drawing on depictions of climate change in speculative and science fiction, the artworks unfold through narrative, atmospheric, and embodied experiences [emphasis mine]. The changes are not a distant abstraction but something we now feel, inhabit, and negotiate.
The exhibition is a story of three interwoven galaxies—distinct yet interconnected—fantasy and scientific inquiry converge [emphasis mine]. Viewers move between our Milky Way galaxy and two fantastical ones, encountering altered ecosystems and technologies. Adaptations blur the boundaries between the plausible and the imagined. Dystopian and utopia impulses intersect. This is what Margaret Atwood terms ‘ustopia’— a fragile balance where loss and possibility coexist, shaped by new forms of cooperation.
In placing climate change and planetary changes within speculative and fictional frameworks, Cum Grano Salis opens space for emotional, poetic, and critical engagement. The exhibition encourages viewers to consider how imagination, storytelling, and world-building might help reframe our understanding of environmental instability and change our relationship to our planet.
Find more information or visit the Red Head Gallery Hours: Wed.-Sat. 12:00-5:00 pm
In an elegant fusion of art and science, researchers at Rice University have achieved a major milestone in nanomaterials engineering by uncovering how boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) — touted for their strength, thermal stability and insulating properties — can be coaxed into forming ordered liquid crystalline phases in water. Their work, published in Langmuir, the premier American Chemical Society journal in colloid and surface chemistry, was so visually striking it graced the journal’s cover.
That vibrant image, however, represents more than just the beauty of science at the nanoscale. It captures the essence of a new, scalable method to align BNNTs in aqueous solutions using a common bile-salt surfactant — sodium deoxycholate (SDC) — opening the door to next-generation materials for aerospace, electronics and beyond.
“This work is very interesting from the fundamental point of view because it shows that BNNTs can be used as model systems to study novel nanorod liquid crystals,” said Matteo Pasquali, the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering and corresponding author on the study. “The main advantage is that BNNTs are relatively transparent and easily studied via visible light unlike carbon nanotubes, which form dark liquid crystals that are hard to examine via light microscopy.”
For first author Joe Khoury, the study was more than routine science. Trained as an architect in Syria, he transitioned to chemical engineering after moving to the U.S., but his background in visual design may have helped him see something others might have missed. During a routine purification step, he noticed that as water was filtered from the dispersion, the leftover material became thick and glowed under polarized light — a hallmark of liquid crystal formation. Inspired by this observation, the team hypothesized that increasing the SDC concentration would drive BNNTs to self-assemble into ordered nematic phases.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a meticulous series of experiments, preparing BNNT-SDC dispersions at varying concentrations. They used polarized light microscopy to observe the transition from disordered states to partially ordered and then fully ordered liquid crystalline phases. Cryogenic electron microscopy provided high-resolution confirmation of BNNT alignment.
Crucially, they produced the first comprehensive phase diagram for BNNTs in surfactant solutions — a predictive map that allows scientists to anticipate how BNNTs will behave at different concentration ratios.
“No one had done this before,” Khoury said. “Previous studies either worked at low BNNT concentrations or used too little surfactant. We showed that if you increase both in the right proportion, you can trigger liquid crystalline ordering without using harsh chemicals or complicated procedures.”
In addition to mapping phase behavior, the team followed a simple, reproducible method to turn these dispersions into thin, well-aligned BNNT films. Using a specialized blade to shear the material onto a glass slide, they fabricated transparent, robust films ideal for thermal management and structural reinforcement applications (think lighter, stronger and more heat-tolerant components in tech devices or aircraft). Using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, the team confirmed the alignment at the nanoscale level.
“We demonstrated that nematic alignment in solution can be preserved and translated into solid films,” Khoury said. “That makes this a highly scalable platform for next-gen materials.”
The study lays the groundwork for new research into lyotropic liquid crystals formed from nanorods. Its simplicity — no strong acids, no harsh conditions — makes it accessible to labs worldwide. And its implications stretch from theoretical physics to commercial materials engineering.
“This is just the beginning,” Pasquali said. “With this road map, we can now explore how to fine-tune BNNT alignment for specific applications. It’s not just about making films; it’s about understanding a whole new class of functional nanomaterials.”
Pasquali added that the beauty of the images was mesmerizing.
“When Joe sent me candidate images for the cover, I felt like I was looking at paintings by Dali or Van Gogh,” Pasquali said. “The cover image could be the tower of Barad-dur from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ painted by a surrealist artist.”
Khoury added that this research would not have been possible without the guidance and mentorship from his team and co-authors, including Pasquali; Angel Martí, professor and chair of chemistry and professor of bioengineering and materials science and nanoengineering at Rice; Cheol Park of NASA Langley Research Center; Lyndsey Scammell from BNNT LLC; and Yeshayahu Talmon at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, among others.
This research was supported by the Welch Foundation, BNNT LLC, the Technion Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute and Rice’s Electron Microscopy Center and its Shared Equipment Authority.
Caption: Matteo Pasquali, the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering, and first author Joe Khoury. Credit: Rice University.
Världens minsta dalahäst, 7 mikrometer stor – lika liten som en röd blodcell. Dalahästen har skapats av konstnären Erik Olof Wiklund och staff scientist Nils Hauff vid Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy, en forskningsinfrastruktur vid Umeå universitet och SciLifeLab. De har täljt fram den mikroskopiska dalahästen med en jonstråle ur en bit platina. /The worlds smallest Dala horse, 7 micro metres – as small as a red blood cell. The microscopic sculpture has been created by the artist Erik Olof Wiklund and staff scientist Nils Hauff at Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy, a research infrastructure at Umeå University and SciLifeLab. The Dala horse has been carved out from a piece of platinum using a focused ion beam.
The artist behind one of Sweden’s largest gingerbread houses, Erik Olof Wiklund, has together with Nils Hauff at Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy, UCEM, created the world’s smallest Dala horse. As small as a red blood cell, the microscopic horse is invisible to the naked eye. The project is a unique collaboration of artistic creativity and advanced nanotechnology, part of the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts’ master’s exhibition at Bildmuseet this [2025] summer.
Cultural symbol enters the cellular world
The inspiration for the microscopic Dala horse – Dalahäst in Swedish – came several years ago when Erik Olof Wiklund saw the previous “world’s smallest Dala horse”, a few millimetres tall, at a museum in Dalarna. “I remember thinking it was unnecessarily large to be the world’s smallest,” Wiklund recalls with a laugh.
When he began working on his master’s project this past winter at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, he found the idea of the world’s smallest Dalahäst in one of his notebooks. “I thought, well, I’m at a university now – surely there must be someone here who knows someone who can help,” he says.
After many emails and phone calls, his idea eventually landed with Nils Hauff, staff scientist at UCEM, the electron microscopy unit at Umeå University and part of SciLifeLab. “I never imagined the help I needed would be right here in Umeå – it felt too good to be true,” says Wiklund.
To carve with an ion beam
“It’s not every day I get requests like this,” says Nils Hauff, who normally uses electron microscopes for world-leading research on biological processes in cells and studies of materials at the nanoscale.
To create the microscopic horse, they used a focused ion beam – a tool typically used to cut away material to reveal internal structures. It works somewhat like an extremely precise laser beam, capable of removing material with remarkable accuracy.
“Instead of removing material, we were now creating something. It was an exciting challenge,” says Hauff, who carved the horse from a tiny piece of platinum. “I was thinking that I need to remove everything that is not a horse,” he explains laughing.
One of the biggest challenges was controlling the ion beam so the horse wouldn’t be blown away during the process. “Imagine an incredibly powerful and thin beam that can burn away material at an incredible speed. We had to work with extreme precision,” says Hauff.
From idea to finished micro-sculpture, the process took several weeks. Wiklund and Hauff had to develop a shared language to communicate their vision. Together they unpacked concepts like micrometers, ion beams, and what an electron microscope actually is, forming a bridge between two vastly different fields.
“I think we both learned a lot from each other,” says Wiklund.
Microscale craftsmanship with artistic detail
Despite its minimal size of just 7 micrometres – about 10 times thinner than a human hair – the Dala horse features intricate details and classic patterns inspired by traditional painted wooden horses.
“I was born and raised in Alfta, Hälsingland, near the border of Dalarna, and I’ve used the Dala horse as a recurring motif in my art. For this project, the pattern was inspired by a horse my grandfather received from his father as a child. I’m incredibly happy with the level of detail we achieved – the result exceeded my expectations,” says Wiklund.
For him, the project is about more than advanced technology – it is also a dialogue between art and science, where collaboration with a scientist has offered new perspectives. In many ways, the tiny horse became a metaphor for Wiklund’s own artistic journey during his studies.
“I’ve carried my cultural heritage with me, but I’ve also had to scale it down, question it, and see it in a new light through the eyes and contexts of others. By minimizing its size, I paradoxically amplified its significance and realised that the small can be just as powerful as the large. Is it the horse’s physical form that defines it – or the story and value we assign to it?”
A bridge between art and science
“When we captured the images of the horse with the microscope, I got to see how an artist thinks about aesthetics. As scientists, we often don’t think about beauty in the same way as an artist,” says Hauff.
This type of collaboration is an example of how art and science can enrich one another. Umeå University has a strong tradition of interdisciplinary collaboration, and now art and science have come together to create something new. The project is part of Erik Olof Wiklund’s thesis work at the Academy of Fine Arts.
“This project shows how research infrastructure can be used in unexpected ways,” says Hauff. “And above all, how much fun it can be to let different worlds meet,” adds Wiklund.
The project is part of Erik Olof Wiklund’s degree project at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts.
Puppetry can help young audiences understand complex science, including cutting-edge enzyme research on plastic recycling
A new study explores how puppetry can be a fun and effective tool for helping young people understand complex scientific topics
The findings show that using creative methods, such as puppets, not only supports learning and builds confidence, but also inspires young people to explore future careers in science and engineering
The research highlights low-carbon biotechnological solutions for recycling plastic waste, focusing on enzyme-based biorecycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the common plastic used in packaging
New research led by the University of Portsmouth has revealed how puppetry and other creative methods can effectively make complex scientific topics, such as plastic recycling, more understandable and engaging for diverse audiences.
The article, published by UCL Press, highlights how the project ‘Puppets as Engineers of the Imagination’, explores using performing objects to communicate scientific topics. This project was supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Ingenious grants scheme.
The project used various methods, including puppetry workshops, to spark discussions and improve communication between engineers and individuals aged 14 to 16. By bringing together community groups, young people, and engineers, it highlighted important topics such as plastic-degrading enzymes and their role in plastic recycling.
The workshops incorporated shadow puppetry, scrap puppet making, and collage techniques, inspiring participants to think creatively through games and hands-on activities, such as crafting junk puppets from waste and designing shadow-puppet enzymes from Perspex.
This included the “exquisite corpse” game, where scientists collaboratively made surrealist-inspired art. Engineers were also given sketchbooks to explore creative ideas for community workshops, providing a space for imagination outside of their usual day-to-day responsibilities.
Key findings:
Puppetry can be used as a co-creation method to increase aspirations in young people toward careers in engineering
Art-science public engagement can increase use of facilitation and participatory techniques in the sciences and engineering
Co-creative methods can increase the confidence of individuals to design and implement engagement programmes, with increased motivation to do more public engagement with audiences
Findings also revealed that 86 per cent of young people gained a better understanding of the roles engineers play, while 79 per cent of participants discovered how engineering affects their everyday lives.
Additionally, engineers also reported increased confidence using arts-based methods for public engagement. This approach enabled them to practice explaining complex concepts in simpler terms, making their expertise easier to grasp.
Project lead Brooke Wain, researcher at the University of Portsmouth, said: “This project was an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between science and the arts, encouraging scientists to step outside traditional methods and communicate their research in more creative, accessible ways. By fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, we explored how tools like puppetry and interactive workshops can make complex scientific ideas not only easier to understand but also more engaging.
“The collaboration reminded us that creativity has a crucial role to play in how we connect with people, and that science doesn’t always need to be explained in a lab coat. Overall, the project demonstrated how creative methods can bridge gaps not only between disciplines, but also between researchers and the wider public. We showed that science is accessible to everyone.”
“Building on the increased public distrust in science post-COVID, the project also provided engineers with valuable opportunities to demonstrate their expertise, reinforcing the importance of communicating their work clearly to younger or non-specialist audiences,” added Miss Wain.
Dr Matt Smith, from the School of Architecture, Art and Design, said: “Puppetry is a powerful tool for engaging people with complex science, like enzymes and the circular economy of plastic waste. It helps transform tricky concepts into something tangible, boosting confidence in young scientists and enabling them to communicate cutting-edge research effectively.
“I’ve previously created puppet shows with biologists, covering topics like asthma awareness through a dragon who had lost his puff. As part of this research, we used similar engaging and inspiring puppetry techniques to captivate audiences.”
The project highlights its collaboration with scientists from the University’s Centre for Enzyme Innovation (CEI) and newly established P3EB (Preventing Plastic Pollution via Engineering Biology) hub, whose research focuses on developing transformative enzyme-enabled solutions for the circular recycling of plastics, addressing an urgent environmental challenge. The team uses engineering biology to develop sustainable recycling alternatives to help reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste.
You can find the “Puppets as Engineers of the Imagination: Using Performing Objects to Communicate Innovative Enzyme Science” on the University of Portsmouth research portal here.
A May 29, 2025 Ingenium, Canada’s museums of science and innovation (comprising the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum) announcement (received via email and available for a limited time here), profiles their June 2025 events, Note 1: I have put the announcements in date order (as best I can); Note 2: There’s a little more about ‘Ocean Week; at the end of this posting,
Celebrate World Ocean Week [June 1 – 8, 2025]
From interactive robots to augmented reality encounters, World Ocean Week at the Canada Science and Technology Museum is making waves! Dive into engaging, hands-on activities that bring ocean science to life—control ocean-themed robots in Exploratek and experience the awe-inspiring scale of marine life through a whale-sized AR adventure. Young explorers can also join the Ocean Explorer Scavenger Hunt, discovering ocean-themed artifacts hidden throughout the galleries. With Canada surrounded by three oceans, there’s no better place to celebrate our connection to the sea. Join us for a week of discovery, play, and ocean inspiration!
Coming June 1 [2025] to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, Lii buflo: A Métis way of life explores the profound connection between the Métis people and the buffalo. This traveling exhibition highlights the historic relationship, spiritual significance, and ongoing conservation efforts to protect these majestic animals. Through ten interpretive panels featuring the artwork of Métis artist Jesse Gouchey, visitors will discover stories of Métis stewardship and tradition. Developed in collaboration with a Métis advisory committee, the exhibit offers a powerful opportunity to engage with Métis history, culture, and community voices.
Discover the hidden treasures of Canadian innovation at Doors Open Ottawa
Step behind the scenes of Canadian science and innovation! On June 7 [2025], Ingenium is proud to participate in Doors Open Ottawa by welcoming visitors to the Ingenium Centre—a state-of-the-art facility designed to house and maintain Canada’s scientific treasures.
Home to over 150,000 artifacts and 100,000 library and archival items, the Ingenium Centre preserves everything from steam locomotives and tractors to vintage tech, seeds, and scientific instruments. During this special event, you’ll have the chance to explore these national treasures up close, uncover fascinating stories from Canada’s past, and meet the experts who care for them.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience one of the world’s most accessible and advanced museum collection facilities!
Admission is FREE! Book your timed-entry tickets now.
On June 25 [2025], visitors of all ages are invited to enjoy FREE evening access to the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Explore the animal barns, exhibitions, and Demonstration Kitchen—all included with your visit. Each evening features hands-on activities and engaging demonstrations, with something new to discover every time. This initiative is part of Ingenium’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion and is made possible through the support of the Ingenium Foundation and its donors.
Did you know Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen is part of the Artemis II crew, set to orbit the Moon in 2026? This historic mission will be the first crewed test flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and marks the first time a Canadian will travel to the Moon. Visitors to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum can explore a new video projection celebrating this milestone. Watch Destination Moon to learn more about Artemis II and Canada’s vital role in lunar exploration—helping pave the way for deeper space missions. Running throughout our opening hours, this short video is included in your museum admission.
The May 29, 2025 Ingenium announcement includes something that’s not an event but seemingly as invitation to create your art/science experience, Note: I substituted the image used by Ingenium in their announcement with the one used by the National Gallery of Canada,
Subscribe to the National Gallery of Canada’s newsletter
Looking for more ways to stay inspired? The National Gallery of Canada’s newsletter is the perfect complement to Ingenium’s. Featuring the latest exhibitions, inspiring stories, exciting events and updates from the Gallery, your connection to art starts here. Stay in the know and get closer to art with every issue.
United Nations (UN) World Oceans Day 2025 is being celebrated on June 8, 2025 concurrently with the last day of Ocean Week Canada being held across the country from coast to coast to coast from June 1 – 8, 2025. Lastly, there is the UN’s 2025 World Ocean Week, which can be found on a webpage identified as World Oceans Day. The naming convention for the ‘day’ and the two different ‘weeks’ is a little bewildering to me.
The contest is for undergraduate students at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the deadline is Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 6 pm PT. I’ve got more about the contest from an April 23, 2025 Belkin Gallery (The Belkin) newsletter (received via email and it can be seen here for a limited time)
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Ars Scientia Essay Prize: The Art-Science Connection
Deadline: Wednesday, April 30 at 6 pm
$1,000 Prize for the Winning Entry
Ars Scientia, UBC’s interdisciplinary initiative at the intersection of art and science, welcomes all UBC undergraduate students across campus to participate in our 2025 Essay Prize. This is an opportunity to explore the profound and often catalyzing connections between these two fields. If we take the long view, art and science have been considered pursuits comfortably woven together for most of human history. Somehow over the past two centuries we lost sight of that holistic worldview and these disciplines became seemingly incompatible. You are invited to write an essay considering how art and science are inextricably linked in fundamental and generative ways, addressing specific examples you have encountered – in a lab, an experiment; in an exhibition, an artwork; perhaps a thought experiment.
Publication: The best essay will be published on the Ars Scientia website, featured in the Quantum Matter Institute’s newsletter, and shared through other relevant online platforms.
Length: 1000-word limit
Deadline: 6 PM PDT, Wednesday, 30 April, 2025
How to Submit: email your essay as a PDF attachment to: arsscientia@ubc.ca
As part of Ars Scientia’s mission to foster dialogue between artistic and scientific inquiry, this competition is an invitation for you to explore, challenge, and celebrate creative intersections of art and science. We look forward to your insights!
Good luck.
For anyone who’s curious about Ars Scientia, I have a lot more about this partnership between the University of British Columbia’s (UBC; Vancouver, Canada) Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (Blusson QMI), Morris & Helen Belkin Art Gallery (the Belkin), and its Department of Physics and Astronomy (UBC PHAS). Just search ‘Ars Scientia’ in this blog’s search engine.
I’m a little late to the party but there’s still time to make a submission (for Toronto-based artists in particular as there’s very little time left, also there’s no money to pay the artists or for shipping costs) for the 2025 edition of the SciArt Gallery event included as part of the cross-Canada Science Rendezvous festival.
Here’s more from an April 10, 2025 note I received (via email),
… We are the SciArt Gallery team and we are reaching out on behalf of Science Rendezvous. Science Rendezvous is a registered charitable organization dedicated to bringing exciting research, STEM experiences, and programming to the public. As the SciArt Gallery team, we work together with artists and organizations to create an exhibition inspired by science and the theme provided each year. Artists are welcome to sell their works, but we kindly ask that no baked goods be sold. Here is a link to our website for previous SciArt Gallery exhibitions: https://www.sciencerendezvousuoft.ca/2023-festival/sciart-gallery/ (might want to see if it can be updated to include the 2024 event).
… If you have any STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] inspired artwork to showcase, please sign-up through this link: https://forms.gle/zYCyeYUFEz34wcoJA. We welcome artists with interactive artwork, especially pieces designed to engage family audiences. The event is being held on May 10th, 2025 at the University of Toronto, St. George campus from 11 am to 5 pm. Deadline for the application is April 25th, 2025.
I found more information from the Open Call for artists – U of T [University of Toronto] Science Rendezvous SciArt Gallery 2025 page (accessed via this link: https://forms.gle/zYCyeYUFEz34wcoJA,
Open Call for artists – U of T Science Rendezvous SciArt Gallery 2025
Thank you for your interest in participating in this year’s sci-art gallery! Science-Rendezvous (SR) is a one-day festival that happens simultaneously at sites across Canada, showcasing local scientific research and programs. It is family-friendly and highly interactive, to promote interest in science and research. Best of all, it is FREE! Downtown Toronto is Canada’s largest festival, with over 40,000 attendees last year. If you’d like to learn more about SR and its different activities, please visit http://www.sciencerendezvous.ca/ and http://www.sciencerendezvousuoft.ca/ .
This year, our event will be on May 10, 2025 from 11 am – 5 pm, Front Campus (King’s College Circle).
Part of this wonderful celebration is the display of local science art, or sci-art at our SciArt Gallery. This can be in any medium, with any kind of subject relating to nature and/or science. The theme of this year’s Science Rendezvous is Wonder! While we, unfortunately, cannot pay our artists, we invite and encourage participating artists to sell their work.
At the conclusion of the event, a prize will be presented to the artist that receives the most public votes!
If you think you’d like to participate, please fill out the form below. We have volunteers that can help with set-up and clean-up, and we provide a free pizza lunch! We will follow up with more information as it becomes available.
The deadline for applying is 11:59 PMon Apr. 25th, 2025. If you apply after this date, there is no guarantee we will be able to accommodate you. If you’d like to contact us before applying for any reason, please email us at uoftsr.sciartgallery@gmail.com
Natural materials that have evolved in plants and animals often display spectacular mechanical and optical properties. For example, spider silk is as strong as steel and tougher than Kevlar, which is used in bullet-proof vests. Inspired by nature, chemists are now synthesizing materials that mimic the structures and properties of shells, bones, muscle, leaves, feathers, and other natural materials. In this talk, I will discuss our recent discovery of a new type of coloured glass that is a mimic of beetle shells. [emphasis mine] These new materials have intriguing optical properties that arise from their twisted internal structure, and they may be useful for emerging applications..
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At the talk, MacLachlan mentioned that his new structurally iridescent material received great interest from the architectural community but since producing it was a painstaking process for a minute quantity, it would not be suitable as a building material.
A few years later I stumbled across some work at Cornell University where material scientists and Korean artist Kimsooja were working on what looks like an iridescent art/science piece, from a September 15, 2014 posting,
For her newest work, Korean artist Kimsooja wanted to explore a “shape and perspective that reveals the invisible as visible, physical as immaterial, and vice versa.” As artist-in-residence for the Cornell Council for the Arts’ (CCA) 2014 Biennial, she has realized that objective with “A Needle Woman: Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir,” to be installed on the Arts Quad next week [Sept. 15 – 19, 2014]. It will be one of several installations on campus for the semester-long biennial, “Intimate Cosmologies: The Aesthetics of Scale in an Age of Nanotechnology,” beginning Sept. 18 [2014] with a talk by Kimsooja.
Here’s how ‘Needle Woman’ looked after fabrication,
Jaeho Chong Pieces of Kimsooja’s “Needle Woman” artwork during fabrication in Shanghai show the polymer film developed by Cornell researchers
Creating materials that change color based on viewing angle represents a significant challenge at the intersection of art and science. Natural examples of this phenomenon, called iridescence, appear in butterfly wings, peacock feathers, and opals. Unlike traditional pigments that absorb specific wavelengths of light, these natural materials use microscopic structures to split light into different colors. This “structural color” approach creates pure, vibrant hues that don’t fade over time and require no potentially toxic pigments.
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A collaboration between Cornell University materials scientists and Korean-American artist Kimsooja has now yielded a practical solution to this challenge. The team developed a method for creating large-scale, durable iridescent coatings, demonstrated through a 46-foot-tall architectural installation titled A Needle Woman: Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir. Initially exhibited at Cornell under the auspices of the Cornell Council for the Arts, the installation now stands as part of the permanent collection at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield, UK, where it has maintained its striking optical properties for over a decade.
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The breakthrough relies on custom-designed plastic molecules that automatically arrange themselves into regular patterns. These molecules consist of two different types of plastic chemically bonded together – polystyrene and poly(tert-butyl methacrylate). When properly designed, thousands of these dual-component molecules spontaneously stack into alternating layers, creating a natural grating that splits light into different colors.
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The key innovation came in synthesizing these molecules at unprecedented sizes – about 1000 times longer than typical plastic molecules. At this scale, the self-assembled layers naturally form patterns around 300-400 nanometers in spacing, large enough to interact with visible light. The researchers then developed a precise coating method to apply these materials while maintaining their self-organized structure.
The scale-up process presented numerous challenges. Each production batch yielded only about 35-40 grams of usable material, with half the attempts failing due to the extreme sensitivity to air and water during synthesis. The installation required roughly 500 grams of material to coat all panels. The team developed a custom two-liter reactor equipped with specialized mixing equipment to increase production scale while maintaining precise control over reaction conditions.
Color consistency posed another challenge. Different batches of the polymer produced slightly different colors due to variations in molecular size. The researchers developed two solutions: blending multiple batches to achieve consistent colors and adding precise amounts of shorter polymer chains to fine-tune the optical properties.
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The team also solved the challenge of applying these coatings to curved surfaces through a specialized lamination technique. They first created the color-shifting layer on flat, flexible plastic sheets, then sandwiched it between protective layers before carefully adhering it to curved acrylic panels. This approach preserved the optical properties while protecting the coating from environmental damage.
Molecules to Masterpieces: Bridging Materials Science and the Arts by Ferdinand F. E. Kohle, Hiroaki Sai, William R. T. Tait, Peter A. Beaucage, Ethan M. Susca, R. Paxton Thedford, Ulrich B. Wiesner. Advanced Materials DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202413939. First published online: 05 December 2024
From a March 10, 2025 ArtSci Salon notice (received via email and visible here as of March 13, 2025), Note: I have reorganized this notice to put the events in date order and clarified for which event you are registering,
The ArtSci Salon (The Fields Institute) in collaboration with the NewONE program (U of T [University of Toronto]) are pleased to invite you to 3 engagements with Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist Kaethe Wenzel
Urban Pictograms Workshop March 20, 2025, 2:30-4:00 pm [ET[ William Doo Auditorium, 45 Willcocks street [sic]
A workshop to challenge the urban rules and cultural stereotypes of street signs
This workshop is part of the programming of the NewONE: learning without borders, New College, University of Toronto. Throughout the academic year, our classes have been exploring important issues pertaining to social justice. During this workshop, we invite students and members of the community to work together to create urban pictograms (or urban stickers) that challenge inequalities and reaffirm principles of social justice. A selected number of pictograms will be displayed on the windows of the D.G Ivey New College Library and will be launched on April 3 [2025] at 4:30 pm [ET].
Public talk: Urban organisms. Re-imagining urban ecologies and collective futures March 27 [2025], 5 pm [ET], Room 230 The Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences 222 College Street
After all, the world is being produced collectively, across the borders of time and geography as well as across the boundaries of the individual. –Kaethe Wenzel
Join us in welcoming Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist Kaethe Wenzel. Wenzel has used a diverse variety of media and material such as textiles, found items, animal bones, plants, soil and other organic material, as well as small electronics to produce urban interventions and objects of speculative fiction at the intersection of art, science and technology. Wenzel challenges the notion of the artwork as an object to be observed in a gallery or museum, and the gallery as a constrained space with relatively limited interactions. Her extensive body of work extends to building facades, billboards, entire neighborhoods and the city, translating into urban interventions to explore the collective production of culture and the creation and negotiation of public space.
Public launch of Urban Pictograms Thursday, April 3, 2025, 4 pm [ET] onwards Windows of D.G Ivey Library, 20 Willcocks Street, New College, University of Toronto
Speculative Meteorology: Weather Channeled Feb 3-7, [2-25] 10-4pm [ET]
opening reception : Feb 5, [2025] 5-7pm [ET] Special Projects Gallery, Goldfarb Centre for the Arts York University [Toronto, Ontario, Canada]
Curated by Aftab Mirzaei (Science and Technology Studies) with Mark-David Hosale (Digital Media) and showcases the work of artists and researchers including, Chris Beaulieu, Kwame Kyei-Boateng, Nava Waxman, Mark-David Hosale, Hiro Kubayashi, Grace Grothaus, Leo Liu, Winnie Luo, Aftab Mirzaei, and Colin Tucker.
DESCRIPTION Speculative Meteorology: Weather Channeled emerges from a series of interdisciplinary experiments conducted by members of the nd:studiolab between 2023 and 2024. This exhibit invites artists and researchers to explore imaginative and multidimensional accounts of atmospheres and climates across past, present, and future. Drawing on Donna Haraway’s concept of SF—speculative fabulation as a mode of attention, a theory of history, and a practice of worlding—the works collectively reimagine our relationship to the weather, engaging it as a site of both knowledge-making and creative practice.
Sponsored by the nD::StudioLab at York University
Environmental Monitoring for Art a workshop as part of the Speculative Meteorology: Weather Channeled interdisciplinary art exhibition, with Grace Grothaus
Feb 7, 2025, 12 -3 PM [ET] ACW 103, The Transmedia Lab York University [Toronto, Ontario, Canada]
In this three-hour workshop, we will fabricate sensors that can detect environmental data using some readily available materials and electronics. We will fabricate sensors that can detect animal footsteps, record raindrops, or measure wind and then learn to read their values using Arduino. The data from these sensors can be used as input for actuators in physical computing projects, or they can be triggers for screen-based animation or music – the options are wide and varied.
Here’s the second exhibition and its associated events, from the January 25, 2025 notice,
Afterglow Exhibition Feb 4-7, [2-25] 10-3pm [ET]
opening reception : Feb 5, [2025] 5-7pm [ET] Gales Gallery, York University [Toronto, Ontario, Canada]
Curated by : Nina Czegledy & Joel Ong, featuring international and local artists Raphael Arar, Nagy Molnar, Laszlo Zsolt Bordos, Jennifer Willet, Joel Ong (with Khaled Eilouti, Zhino Yousefi, Shelby Murchie and Oliver Debski-Tran)
AFTERGLOW [ af-ter-gloh, ahf- ] is an exhibition envisioned around the graphic quality of light, as well as its traces and incandescence both real and metaphorical. The participating artists explore cross-cultural practices via a variety of analog and digital media, relating light to unfolding contemporary considerations in the global Light Art panorama. At the same time, Afterglow references a deep resonance with the past, paying tribute to historical ideas that have illuminated our current understandings of interconnected systems of values and beliefs that underly the complementary artistic practices today.
In the words of pioneering Hungarian artist György Kepes (1906-2001) : “Our human nature is profoundly phototropic”. The exhibition is a reminder of the integral nature of light to human and more-than-human life, but also to the notion of light as a sensory environment within which we remain rooted, transfixed and nourished. The exhibiting artists take up these ideas in various formations, alluding to the physical, metaphorical and ecological implications of light. As an initial exhibition prototype, Afterglow is presented first at the Gales Gallery at York University in Toronto as it grows towards future touring exhibitions and symposia. The exhibition is integrated with a virtual Symposium that features exhibiting artists as well as International artists/theorists in conversation. Please proceed to our Eventbrite page for more details and registration [see below]. – Nina Czegledy, Joel Ong.
Afterglow Symposium Feb 6 [2025] 1-3pm [ET] Symposium Presenters: Andrea Polli, Jennifer Willet, Joel Ong, Karolina Halatek, Marton Orostz, Nina Czegledy and Raphael Arar.
If you’re in Toronto, you’re spoiled for choices. As for the rest of us, the Afterglow Symposium, as a hybrid event, offers an opportunity to hear from the artists.
