Deconstructing Patterns: New Scientist review

Liz Else is captivated by the conversations in ‘Deconstructing Patterns’, leading with the headline ‘Cultural clash makes a fascinating show’

'Perhaps wisely, the exhibition is framed as a conversation between art and science. In the right hands, this leads to good art – literally in the case of artist Helen Pynor. She has made the extraordinary film – ‘Development of the visual circuit of Drosophila melanogaster in Three Acts – of some very special hands. They belong to Iris Salecker, head of the Crick’s visual circuit assembly laboratory. They are eloquent, talking science in an excitingly kinaesthetic way…

‘Another commission ‘A New Music: Making sense of the noise’ also intrigues … standing in white pods hung from the ceiling we are on a journey. There is an assortment of watery noises, white noise, voices repeating the letters A, T, C, G (DNA bases and the stuff of life) or chatting about the search for patterns from simple code.

‘At the other end of the show, the kids are less reverent but definitely alright. A group of them called KaleiKo made a film … the result, ‘Selection’, is a surreal tale about a worker who breaks out of work’s machine-like conformity to find a better fate … And it is fun.’

If you have a subscription to New Scientist you can read the review in full.

Sign up for our newsletters

Join our mailing lists to receive updates about our latest research and to hear about our free public events and exhibitions.  If you would like to find out more about how we manage your personal information please see our privacy policy.