The Institute of Unnecessary Research

Head of Projective Geometry Alex May recently exhibited his...

annadumitriu — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 04:38:00 -0400

Head of Projective Geometry Alex May recently exhibited his interactive installation “Shadows of Light” and created a live video mapped installation at Tate Modern. The work was shown between 6:30-7:30pm on Friday 26th May during VASE, an evening of immersive and interactive audio and visual presentations, as part of the #hyperlink Festival. The installation was brought to life before the eyes of visitors using Alex’s own video mapping software “Painting with Light” which is available to download free of charge and aims to make this technology accessible to artists. See here for a video of the performance and here for a review.

Several works by IUR Director Anna Dumitriu were exhibited as...

annadumitriu — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:56:00 -0400

Several works by IUR Director Anna Dumitriu were exhibited as part of “Gone Viral: Medical Science and Contemporary Textile Art” at the Cathy and Jesse Marion Art Gallery, Rockefeller Arts Center, State University of New York, Fredonia, NY, USA. The show was curated by art historian Leesa Rittelmann and includes The Infective Textiles Dress, The MRSA Quilt, Bed Flora and The Art and Science of Linen. The exhibition ran from 8th March - 7th April 2013. Dumitriu also gave a public lecture on 7th March 2013 as part of the gallery’s visiting artist programme. See images here.

A new exhibition by Head of Textile Abuse Bettina Schülke opens...

annadumitriu — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:40:00 -0500

A new exhibition by Head of Textile Abuse Bettina Schülke opens at Galeria Voima in Kemi, Finland at 6pm on 1st February 2013 and the show is open from 2nd February - 22nd March 2013. The show is entitled “In the Blink of an Eye”and deals with the perception of time. This can be a moment, which becomes frozen in time, or a duration, apparently seeming to last forever. The exhibition design is characterized by the combination of the use of Old and New Media. Big-scale drawings, a “storyboard wall” comprising photography and text, and a video-installation dealing with the idea of extending a certain moment to infinity are building the main components of this exhibition. See more here.

We are pleased to announce that Dr Heba el Aziz has joined the...

annadumitriu — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:06:00 -0500

We are pleased to announce that Dr Heba el Aziz has joined the Institute of Unnecessary Research as Head of Art and Science in The Arab World. Her work focuses on the challenge of developing links between the art and science communities across the Arab world.

Head of Robotics Paul Granjon will be speaking about his work at...

annadumitriu — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 03:43:00 -0500

Head of Robotics Paul Granjon will be speaking about his work at 6:15pm on 28th November 2012 at The Royal College of Art as part of the Computer Arts Society lecture series. Paul’s often humorous artwork investigates the co-evolution of humans and machines. All welcome!

Head of Ethics Ellen Ter Gast will be speaking this evening in...

annadumitriu — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:13:00 -0400

Head of Ethics Ellen Ter Gast will be speaking this evening in The Hague, Netherlands, about the moral and political dilemmas that are brought up by the works in the exhibition “Uncommitted Crime”. In the debate, organised by Quartair, she will reflect on the role that art can play in articulating the feelings evoked by the developments in the (bio) technology.

New dates 2012 for “My Robot Companion” by Anna...

annadumitriu — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:57:00 -0400

New dates 2012 for “My Robot Companion” by Anna Dumitriu & Alex May in collaboration with Dr Michael L Walters and Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn announced. It will be exhibited at The London Design Festival Digital Weekend at the V & A Museum , The 12 Star Gallery, Europe House, London, as part of “Robots and Avatars - UK Selection” produced and curated by body>data>space and at blinc Digital Festival.

Alex May (Head of Projective Geometry) will be speaking and...

annadumitriu — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 09:47:00 -0400

Alex May (Head of Projective Geometry) will be speaking and running a workshop as part of Brighton Digital Festival in September entitled “Painting with Light”. He will be speaking about his approach to video mapping as an artistic medium and launching his new free software. For more information and to book a workshop see here. The software is now available for download here.

Kira O’Reilly (Head of Tissue Culture) features in an...

annadumitriu — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 09:16:00 -0400

Kira O’Reilly (Head of Tissue Culture) features in an exciting new exhibition at St Paul’s Project Space, London called “Blank Promiscuity” until 12th August 2012. The exhibition includes “Refolding (Laboratory Architectures)” (pictured) which was made in collaboration with Jennifer Willet. See more about the exhibition here.

Luciana Haill (Head of Augmented Consciousness) will be speaking...

annadumitriu — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 09:06:00 -0400

Luciana Haill (Head of Augmented Consciousness) will be speaking at The International Conference on Encounters Between Art and New Sciences at the Centro Nacional De Las Artes in Mexico on Monday 6th August 2102 at 6pm (local time) her talk is entitled “Augmented Consciousness with Neurofeedback. Interactive Generative Art with EEG” see more here.

Anna Dumitriu’s project: “Confronting the Bacterial...

annadumitriu — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:06:05 -0400

Anna Dumitriu’s project: “Confronting the Bacterial Sublime: Building a Biosafety Level 2 Lab in a Gallery” was presented as part of “Trust me, I’m an artist: towards an ethics of art/science collaboration” at The Science Gallery in Dublin in March 2012. The video of that event is now online. Find out more here.

Plastic Viscera: Reconstruct & Regenerate - An...

annadumitriu — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:08:00 -0400

Plastic Viscera: Reconstruct & Regenerate - An interdisciplinary art and science symposium considering the historical legacy of reconstructive and regenerative medicine, directed by IUR Head of Anatomy Simon Hall and featuring a talk by IUR Director Anna Dumitriu. See here for booking information.

IUR Head of the Digital Simulacra Luke Robert Mason will be...

annadumitriu — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:16:00 -0400

IUR Head of the Digital Simulacra Luke Robert Mason will be speaking at the Royal College of Art, alongside Stelarc, Nicola Triscott and Revital Cohen on “Imagining the Future” at 6:00 pm Thursday 28h June 2012 at The Hockney Gallery, Stevens Building, Kensington Gore SW7 2EU. Luke was recently elected the board of advisors for Humanity+ UK.

Anna Dumitriu has been awarded the 2012 Society for Applied...

annadumitriu — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 10:49:07 -0400

Anna Dumitriu has been awarded the 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology Communications Award in the Professional Communicator Category. She will attend the society’s summer conference to accept the award. Dumitriu said “I am so pleased that my work over many years has been recognised in this way, it’s a great honour”. Find out more here.

WetNet created by Tagny Duff (Head of Viral Contagion) for the...

annadumitriu — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 17:15:00 -0400

WetNet created by Tagny Duff (Head of Viral Contagion) for the exhibition Emergencies2012 explores the relationship between contamination, bioremediation and sustainable systems. This work in progress features the creation of “contaminated” wet sculptures in the form of disposable science equipment. See website here.

Anna Dumitriu is running an Infective Textiles workshop as part...

annadumitriu — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:15:00 -0400

Anna Dumitriu is running an Infective Textiles workshop as part of (DIY)biology: Designing for Open Source Science ‘12 at Newcastle Culture Lab on 12th June 2012. During our one-day workshop, we will work directly with (DIY) biology practitioners to gain a shared understanding of the practices, materials and challenges behind hobby biology. The workshop will be structured around several hands-on biology-related activities, which will be used to seed brainstorming and discussions. See here for .more information

Several members of the IUR (Anna Dumitriu, Alex May and Gordana...

annadumitriu — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:05:00 -0400

Several members of the IUR (Anna Dumitriu, Alex May and Gordana Novakovic) are exhibiting as part of the touring exhibition “Intuition and Ingenuity” for the Alan Turing Centenary, co-curated by Anna Dumitriu. The exhibition is touring to Leicester, Aberdeen, Conwy, London and Bletchley Park. It has so far been exhibited at Kinetica in London, Lighthouse in Brighton, AISB Conference in Birmingham and Lovebytes in Sheffield. See here for more information.

An innovative one day interdisciplinary medical arts workshop...

annadumitriu — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:55:00 -0400

An innovative one day interdisciplinary medical arts workshop considering the historical legacy of reconstructive plastic surgery through practical wax sculpture. The session will be lead by Simon Hall (Head of Anatomy at the IUR) in collaboration with leading anatomical artist Eleanor Crook. Additionally participants will gain expert tuition from Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr Charles Nduka on advances in plastic surgery. For more information see here.