Output details
27 - Area Studies
University of the Highlands and Islands
Things Unseen
Things Unseen is a series of artworks by Anne Bevan developed through sculpture, print and video and is the result of research looking at unseen often microscopic changes happening in the oceans of the North Atlantic. Looking at single cell organisms known as foraminifera, Bevan used scientific and creative processes, including 3D imagery and microbiology techniques, to alter the scale of these tiny forms, transforming them from microscopic to human scale, through casting, modelling and printing.
Bevan collaborated with marine biologist Prof Kate Darling and scientists in the department of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh. Field research was based in North Atlantic coastal locations and was carried out through projects including Cape Farewell’s SeaChange expedition. Research continued in the studio and laboratory involving work with innovative microscopic CT scanning techniques with experimental geologist Dr Ian Butler. Bevan’s research also examined the wider context of oceanography, location and developments relating to marine wave and tidal energy, working with the International Centre for Island Technology based in Orkney.
Works produced include:
Ebb and Flow – 2 sculptures referencing scientific models looking at time, location and wave technology.
Particle – series of enlarged microscopic images taken from foraminifera extracted from sand from North Uist beaches
Ghost - series of enlarged 2 & 3D prints developed from CT scans
Nova – sculpture referencing microscopic forms
As part of her research process Bevan invited writers to join this dialogue of visualising the invisible. ‘Things Unseen’ (published Pier Arts Centre 2013) is an anthology bringing this interdisciplinary work together through images and texts.
The project has been disseminated through exhibitions, conference events and seminars in locations from Orkney, Shetland & North Uist to Dortmund, Germany and Kyoto, Japan. The work has been featured and reviewed in scientific events and publications including the New Scientist and Nature.
