“In the future, life will be mapped genomically, modelled mathematically and predicted financially – ultimately time to end, and the potential for life taking its own course (will be) seriously challenged.” Prof. John Hunt
Abandon Normal Devices makes connections with a rapidly accelerating research base, working closely with the science sector to develop artists commissions, residencies and experiments. These projects create a reflective space to explore some of the most contentious moral and ethical issues facing society. We work with artists who embrace biological systems, wet biology, bio-architecture, molecular chemistry and other emerging scientific phenomena.
These have included projects like Pigs Bladder Football by John O Shea, which connected craft with the life science industry to cultivate the world’s first bioengineered football; Life on Film, a programme of films curated by Stephen Fortune which looked at documentation of biological life using micro-cinematography to present day data visualisation; The Immortal by Revital Cohen, a kinetic installation which investigated human dependence on electronics and our perception of anatomy as reflected by biomedical engineering.
AND is proud to be working with University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory through our annual art-science residency COSMOS. The commission enables artists to collaborate with scientists and researchers, experimenting with data collected by the Lovell Telescope and others, and gain a new perspective on the Jodrell Bank’s research.
In 2021, as part of AND Festival, we explored how exposure to chemical water pollutants affects us biologically, socially and ideologically, researched and curated by Dani Admiss, with works by Mary Maggic, Luiza Prado de. O Martins and Sissel Marie Tonn, this work was presented in our online exhibition Toxicity’s Reach
Partners include: Forestry Commission, Jodrell Bank, University of Manchester, Canal and River Trust, University of Liverpool, The Arts Catalyst.