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Art Inspired by Science

Open Call

Creative responses are now being invited from both creative professionals, and the wider community, including Durham University students and pupils from schools across County Durham. Pieces created in response to the images below will be selected by a panel and displayed alongside the original images in an Art-Science exhibition to be held in 2024. Unfortunately, no funding is available to cover the costs of preparing these pieces. Any costs associated with exhibiting them will be covered for those selected for the exhibition. Please get in touch if you have any questions about the exhibition or how to get involved. 

 

The Exhibition

The final exhibition will display a collection of images of biological systems alongside creative responses. These are invited from both creative professionals and the wider community, including Durham University students and pupils from schools across County Durham.

The aim of the exhibition is to explore relationships between the images and responses, and through these the parallels between creativity in scientific thought and artistic exploration.

 

The Images

A selection of images from Dr Banks's research and teaching will be available to view in a temporary exhibition (more details to follow) and in the slide show below. In place, they are deliberately shown without explanatory details. To find out more about them please click on the links below to read a brief description.

The biological images on display are a selection of those collected by Dr Robert Banks during his career working at the forefront of his field. His research in the area of comparative neuroscience explores the structures that act at the junction between muscle and nerve cells. For more information about Bob's research see links to recent publications and review articles below.

  • The association between muscle architecture and muscle spindle abundance. Kissane, R. W. P., Charles, J. P., Banks, R. W., & Bates, K. T. (2023). Scientific Reports, 13(1) doi:10.1038/s41598-023-30044-w
  • There and back again: 50 years of wandering through terra incognita fusorum. Banks, R. W. (2023). Experimental Physiology, doi:10.1113/EP090760  
  • Spindles are doin’ it for themselves: Glutamatergic autoexcitation in muscle spindles. Bewick, G. S., & Banks, R. W. (2021). Journal of Physiology, 599(11), 2781-2783. doi:10.1113/JP281624

 

 

Microscopy image of the gastric glands of the lining of the stomach, courtesy of Dr R W Banks

Image 1

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 1

Electron micrograph image of the outer (molecular) layer of the cerebellar cortex, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 2

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 2

Microscopy image of Sensory nerve cells, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 3

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 3

Electron micrograph image showing internal membranous structures deep within the substance of a skeletal muscle fibre, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 4

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 4

Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM) reconstructed image showing a section of a muscle spindle, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 5

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 5

Electron microscope image of Paramecium, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

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Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 6

Virtual reconstructions of the main (“primary”) sensory endings of seven spindles, made using serial sections for light microscopy, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 7

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 7

Microscopy image of a nerve cell, or neuron, from the cortex of the cerebellum, courtesy of Dr R W Banks.

Image 8

Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 8

Electron micrograph image showing part of a skeletal muscle fibre, sectioned transversely across the length of the fibre, courtesy of Dr R W Banks

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Art Inspired by Science Exhibition - Image 9