sign up/login
The Big Draw
  • Festival Festival
    • About The Big Draw Festival
    • All Events
    • Big Draw Festival Awards
    • Sponsor-Partners 2023
    • The Big Draw Festival 2023: Drawing with Senses
    • What the Organisers Say
  • Blog Blog
    • Support Support
      • Shop Shop
        • Gallery Gallery
          • Our Work Our Work
            • About Us
            • Concepts & The Big Draw
            • Concepts Drawing Challenge
            • Contact
            • Drawing in Schools
            • FAQ's
            • Opportunities
            • Press
            • The Big Draw Ambassadors
            • The Big Draw Patrons
            • The Ruskin Prize


          Membership area

          Drawing Changes Lives

          The Big Draw
          • Festival Festival
            • About The Big Draw Festival
            • All Events
            • Big Draw Festival Awards
            • Sponsor-Partners 2023
            • The Big Draw Festival 2023: Drawing with Senses
            • What the Organisers Say
          • Blog Blog
            • Support Support
              • Shop Shop
                • Gallery Gallery
                  • Our Work Our Work
                    • About Us
                    • Concepts & The Big Draw
                    • Concepts Drawing Challenge
                    • Contact
                    • Drawing in Schools
                    • FAQ's
                    • Opportunities
                    • Press
                    • The Big Draw Ambassadors
                    • The Big Draw Patrons
                    • The Ruskin Prize

                  Membership area

                  The World's Biggest Drawing Festival


                  Introducing 'Representing Biology as Process'

                  This blog post will continue through a series of monthly posts by Dr Gemma Anderson over the next three years about a new Art/Science/Philosophy project called ‘Representing Biology as Process’ funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council

                   

                  Gemma Anderson, 'Mitosis projection', Watercolour and pencil on paper

                  The project, based at the University of Exeter and at The Natural History Museum in London, focuses on drawing as a way of knowing, specifically of microscopic biological processes, aiming to develop a fully ‘processual’ view of the living world.

                   

                  Gemma Anderson and Berta Verd, 'Somitogeneis/Oscillations', Collaborative drawing (Konrad Lorenz Institute, Vienna)

                  Processual here means that rather than observing and thinking of a biological entities as ‘things’ or ‘objects’ that can be studied in isolation, we consider the multi-dimensional, connected and interrelated nature of living processes that change through time. As philosopher of biology John Dupré writes, ‘coming to terms with new developments in our understanding of biology requires that we take more seriously the ways in which life is dynamic at all levels, and that what we think of as living things - genes, cells, organisms - are more fundamentally processes, maintained in relatively stable conditions by yet further processes’ (Dupré, 2017).

                   

                  Adopting a processual view also means that we also want to move away from images that compare living organisms to machines, (for example the mechanical duck pictured below) because unlike machines, which begin to function upon completion of manufacture - living organisms function from their first heartbeat (or vibration). 


                   

                  Historically drawing has been an essential way of knowing in science, for example Watson and Crick’s drawing of DNA (pictured below left)  and Ramon Cajal’s drawing of nueron’s (pictured below right). Recently, however, this drawing practice has fallen, almost undetected, into critical decline.

                   

                   
                   
                  This decline of drawing in scientific practice is evident in the lab of cell biologist James Wakefield at the University of Exeter. Whereas 20 years ago, as a PhD student, his learning was centered around direct participation, through microscope-based observation and drawing of cells, his own PhD students are now further removed, watching 2D representations of cells on computer screens and printing out screen-shots.

                   

                  With a strong focus on mitosis and cell division this project aims to re-introduce drawing into the scientific lab in a new way through practices of care and attention to create a ‘feeling for the organism’ (Fox-Keller, 1981). Instead of copying nature or illustrating science, we aim to draw images that reflect and embody the processual nature of biological life. 

                   

                  “When artists have tried to learn direct lessons from science, copying the visual phenomena turned up by scientific research or technically based industry, not much of value or profundity has been produced. The notions which have been more fructifying are those which have been absorbed by empathy, through the pores, as it were. And they have been expressed again by the artists not so much in any explicit exposition or diagramming of scientific ideas, but rather by living a life of implicit incorporation into a work of art—an artifact—from which the spectator again absorbs them by in-feeling more than by analysis. It is at the deep levels of the human psyche, where these kinds of communication operate, that there is the closest unity between science and art.”(Conrad Waddington, Biologist,1957)

                  Gemma Anderson, 'Development through analogue 3D projection', Pencil and pen on paper, 2016

                   

                  Meet the ‘Representing Biology as Process’ people

                   

                  Dr Gemma Anderson : Gemma is an artist and researcher, and Big Draw research associate. For years Gemma has used drawing as a way of knowing in collaboration with the life sciences and mathematics. Gemma has written a book called 'Drawing as a way of knowing in Art and Science' that will be published by Intellect Press in September this year. You can find out more about her work here.

                  Professor John Dupré : John is a philosopher of science, with a main focus on philosophy of biology. Since 2013 he has led a major project at Egenis, University of Exeter, funded by the European Research Council (ERC). “A Process Ontology for Contemporary Biology” aims to rethink central issues in the philosophy of biology by elaborating an ontology for biology that takes full account of the processual nature of living systems. 

                  Professor James Wakefield : James is a biologist at the Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, whose research interest has always been that of mitosis and cell division, stimulated by the fundamental beauty of the process as viewed using a fluorescence microscope, and its key role in diseases such as cancer. 

                  Dr Peter Olson : Olson is a biologist at the Natural History Museum whose research is directed at understanding the patterns and processes underlying animal diversity and focuses on flatworms, a group of more than 50,000 free-living, symbiotic and parasitic species, including pathogens that have a major negative impact on our health and economy.

                  For the next three years, we will be based at Egenis (the centre for the study of the life sciences) and the Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, making regular visits to the Natural History Museum, where we will work between the lab, the studio and the library. Each month, drawings and reflections of the project will be shared here on the big draw blog.

                   

                  Soon the project will have its own website – look out for more info in future posts.

                  Has this exciting new project inspired you to become part of the world's largest drawing festival? Why not sign up here.

                  facebook twitter instagram pinterest YouTube
                  Find an event

                  search Advanced search »

                  Receive Big Draw News

                  Subscribe to our mailing list

                  Add me to the list
                  Big Draw Seychelles! "Play" 2018 Snakes & Ladders. The concept was to have the children choose the
                  Big Draw Seychelles! "Play" 2018 Snakes & Ladders. The concept was to have the children choose the 'Goodies' of history going up the ladders and the 'Baddies' going down the snakes.
                  Arterial Network Seychelles
                  Carr Hill Art Ambassadors 2017
                  Carr Hill Art Ambassadors 2017
                  Carr Hill High School and Sixth Form Centre
                  Drawing together
                  Drawing together
                  Willow Brook Primary School
                  Elvis animated!
                  Elvis animated!
                  Ribchester St Wilfrid's CE Primary School
                  Full STEAM Ahead - Imaginations unlimited.
                  Full STEAM Ahead - Imaginations unlimited.
                  West Highland College UHI
                  Students used bicycle wheels, chains and other found objects to create their STEAM inspired pictures
                  Students used bicycle wheels, chains and other found objects to create their STEAM inspired pictures
                  Hodgson Academy
                  Side view of The Red House, Aldeburgh
                  Side view of The Red House, Aldeburgh
                  Britten-Pears Foundation
                  Hannah fell in love with this owl in one of our weaving workshops
                  Hannah fell in love with this owl in one of our weaving workshops
                  Huguenot Museum
                  Fold Your City Artist: Anna Bruder
                  Fold Your City Artist: Anna Bruder
                  The Big Draw HQ
                  Family laughing in historic courtroom
                  Family laughing in historic courtroom
                  St Albans Museums
                  'Imagined Lines' workshop. Two new friends helping each other. Drawings using memories, poetry, words as stimulus. Oil Pastel, Wax Crayons, Spice Paints, Pencil, Housepaint on Paper. Community Arts Day at Geddington Brickyard Garden
                  Emma Davies
                  Year 5 artwork by Oliver
                  Year 5 artwork by Oliver
                  St Leonards CE Primary School
                  Mother & Daughter time...enjoying the relaxing environment in our Learning Centre in the Chatsworth Garden
                  Mother & Daughter time...enjoying the relaxing environment in our Learning Centre in the Chatsworth Garden
                  Devonshire Educational Trust
                  Drawing without looking at the paper . Fish
                  Drawing without looking at the paper . Fish
                  Springwell Learning Community
                  A beautiful painting, created by one of our HND students, is taking shape.
                  A beautiful painting, created by one of our HND students, is taking shape.
                  New College Lanarkshire
                  A Kearsney discovery: drawings for an animated film
                  A Kearsney discovery: drawings for an animated film
                  Dover Arts Development
                  The moving figure explored at Mayfield Primary School
                  The moving figure explored at Mayfield Primary School
                  Heathfield Community College
                  drawings from Freefall Youth Group showing at TAAG Big Draw Till Nov 3rd
                  drawings from Freefall Youth Group showing at TAAG Big Draw Till Nov 3rd
                  Teignmouth arts action group
                  Art in the dark
                  Art in the dark
                  Tamworth Borough Council, Tamworth Arts and Events
                  Big Draw in VIlafranca 2016
                  Big Draw in VIlafranca 2016
                  Ajuntament de Vilafranca del Penedès. Servei de Cultura
                  Gallery View The
                  Big Draw

                  @ The Big Draw

                  Tweets by @The_Big_Draw
                  • About us
                  • Terms and Conditions
                  • Organise an event
                  • Press
                  • Privacy policy
                  • Contact
                  The Guild of St George Urban Space Management East London Chamber Alan Davidson Foundation Foster and Partners Trinity Bouy Wharf Trust Trinity Bouy Wharf Here for Culture Concepts Derwent Lottery funded