1. sciencepunk
  2. Luke Jerram's glass sculptures of microbes

Luke Jerram's glass sculptures of microbes

By sciencepunk on December 18, 2011.

This weekend I visited the Trauma exhibition at London's GV Art gallery. The pieces all relate in some way to physical and psychological trauma inflicted on the body, by a range of artists working alone and in collaboration with medics.

i-e3dac4b19046ed3287139d09351e541a-roundswineflu_0-thumb-500x281-71404.jpg

Some of the items are underwhelming verging on irritating - placing histological slides on a plinth does a disservice both to art (because there is no emotional narrative contained within) and to science, because it implies that the inherent wonder and beauty of science is absent unless it is repackaged as a gallery exhibit. (Hello? Museums present objects of science all the time, and they are spaces filled with wonder and beauty).

There are, though, some wonderful pieces that make the trip to West London worthwhile: the annual self-portraits of a man suffering Alzheimer's that chart the destruction of his talent with terrifying effect; and (pictured above) the exquisite glass sculptures of microbes - both real and imagined - created by Luke Jerram.

Trauma is free and can be seen at the GV Art gallery at 49 Chiltern Street, London, until February 18.

Tags
Art
glass
sculture
Art

More like this

Relationship Between Trauma and Unemployment

When unemployment is high, there is more penetrating trauma (bullets, knives).  When employment is high, there is more blunt trauma (automobile crashes).

Study documents links between sexual trauma, suicide among veterans

In the first large-scale study of its kind, researchers report that sexual trauma is indeed a risk factor for suicide among military veterans and are calling on veteran health providers to continue including such trauma in suicide prevention strategies.

Childhood PTSD

face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Domestic violence and other forms of childhood trauma are all too common.  The effects of trauma on children have been studied in a variety of ways, but much of this research has not employed strict diagnostic criteria.

A Florida community strengthens responses to trauma

There's a growing body of research linking childhood trauma (abuse, neglect, family dysfunction, etc.) to impaired brain development and functioning.