"Experiments in imagining the imaging of the N-terminus and polyglutamine chain regions of the Huntingtin protein, through the use of lab-ware, brass, superglue and a copy of "Last & First Men" by Olaf Stapledon." (2014) Materials: Brass, lab-ware, vinyl, glass, science-fiction novel & adhesive I had the deep joy of spending an ASCUS (ascus.org.uk) micro-residency with The Chamberlain Laboratory at Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences recently. The Chamberlain Lab are researching the role of palmitoylation (the adding of fatty acids to proteins) in Huntington's Disease. These images document the work that resulted from the residency. The work was exhibited as part of Strathclyde University's public outreach programme "Engage" and will be in exhibition again in June during Glasgow Science Week at The Glasgow Science Centre.
I've been both a research scientist and an artist, but I've never had the opportunity, before this residency, to thoroughly explore the commonalities and differences between the two disciplines that I love. On reflection, it strikes me that artists and scientists are really not that dissimilar: essentially we both endeavour to create a conceptual model of the universe in which we find ourselves, or that we find within ourselves. In that spirit, I chose to experiment with modelling the mutated Huntingtin protein involved in Huntington's Disease, but instead of Western Blotting or PCR I used a torn-up sci-fi novel, slides and superglue.