The Wasted Works - An Interview with Artist Gina Czarnecki

      The Wasted Works is a controversial exhibition created by artist Gina Czarnecki. This striking collection of work, created from 'discarded body parts,' is available as part of Manchester Science Festival. As the Works opened at MOSI last week, we thought we'd grab a few minutes with the artist herself and see what she thinks about the issues involved.

      

     1) Should people be allowed to donate parts of their body to an artist? 

      Yes - as long as full consent is given by the donors and the artist endeavours to retain the integrity of the work in being mindful of the context that it will be exhibited. For example, if people donated fat to Canopé - I would consider it bad practice to then put the chairs in an exhibition about obesity…

2)  Is it right for galleries to exhibit artwork made of real human bones, teeth or fat?

At the moment, a licence is required from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) for the display of tissue from deceased donors. For tissue from living donors, the same bio-hazard protocols are in place, but a permit is not required (however this is new territory and the expansion of DIY biology and experimentation in this area may highlight the need for a similar license for tissue from living donors in the future). Keeping living tissue in a gallery context, such as SymbioticA have done, requires lab equipment (which is not cheap to hire, own, run or maintain). Crucially though, if it is art then galleries should, in my opinion, be able to show this. If it is 'right' or not comes down to personal values, the integrity of the work and taste.

3) Who owns our body parts when they are removed from us? 

If you lose your hand in a farming accident - on the farm - then you can do with the arm what you like. As soon as this is in a medical establishment, we do not 'own' parts of our body once removed. Once removed, the tissue becomes a possible bio-hazard and is treated accordingly.Technically, no one really owns this but it is the responsibility of the medical profession and we are not allowed to take bits home …but I wonder how Roald Dahl got his hip bone…there are certain bits we can take - stones. In some cases, the umbilical cord and placenta…I guess not too many people ask.

4) Does the use of human tissue in art serve any purpose, or is this just sensationalism?

This depends on the art. In Wasted, this was to draw attention to the grey areas of consent, ownership, donor participation,  etcetera - the Chapman Brothers source bones in their artworks from China. Gunther Von Hagen's first 'bodies' were given to medical research and not for display as art. The Wasted Works were not ultimately about the bones but the process of ethical approval, treatment of bio-hazardous materials and patient consent. I made these works because of living in Liverpool - and the shadow of the Alder Hey Organ Scandal as it has become known and the people who were personally affected by not being asked. My father was a concentration camp survivor and at 7, my visit to the Majdanek camp was shocking and has informed much of my art practice and position since. The basic agreement with medical research is not to cause harm, in any way but for the benefit of improving quality of life in some way...I think if the artwork can do this then it is not just sensationalism. We are also talking of a time when teenagers are having botox (and silicone breast implants have recently exposed bad practice of the use of builders' grade silicone). This just shows us how little people investigate what poison is going into them or the fact that this is the intentional disabling of the body when it is in the name of 'beauty' but those same people will be disgusted by sitting in a chair made of fat - human or otherwise…

5) Should this type of art require formal approval?

Currently, there is no formal body set up that can approve or not this sort of work - the HTA deals with tissue from dead donors and medical research. Universities have their own panels that can approve or not this sort of work. Through The Wasted Works, I have started the process for a national Art and Ethics Advisory Panel and with a significantly high level of people and institutions giving advice in relation to ethics, then this may develop a direct resource for people in the future to know public sentiment, sensitivities and legalities of individual projects. We are not a committee to approve or not the ideas/projects but are advisory only - and with the intention of developing the debate in a public participatory way.

6) Which piece is your favourite and why?

My favourite is The Wasted Works - they co-exist. The palace is the tip of the iceberg, all the pieces do different things and together do more than the sum of the parts and allow one another space - I wouldn't feel comfortable showing diagram for a summerhouse without the lightness of the palace…but the bits I enjoy most at the moment, are the drawings and stories coming in from the donors of the milk teeth. I like this because there is a response on a personal level, and its not the silence of an art audience or the feeling that your work is in a void, but that every one sent is helping to make The Palace grow.


The Wasted Works is available as part of our Art Meets Science programme. Visit our website for a full list of events. 

Request a brochure: info@manchestersciencefestival.com
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WARNING: Domino testing in progress!

Matt Parker gets practicing for the main event

What happens when you let a group of mathematicians loose with 3000 dominoes and a large, flat public space? That’s right - they will attempt to create a giant domino computer....

Recently we were lucky enough to get a bit of a sneak preview of the Domino Computer Challenge, one of our exciting upcoming Festival events and the brainchild of Josh Award winner and Science Communicator in Residence Matt Parker.

It’s quite difficult in words to convey exactly what a domino computer is (it’s far easier when you see one in action so check out Matt’s demo video of a domino logic gate) but the Challenge will essentially involve Matt and his dedicated team building a giant physical representation of a simple ‘adding’ computation, similar to that which takes place when you use a calculator to add two numbers together.

As Matt explains on a recent edition of Pulse-Project's Maths/Maths podcast:

“At the very basic, a computer is adding binary code (made up of 1s and 0s) together. It uses what’s called a logic circuit where you input 1s and 0s, does some calculation on them and then gives you an output in 1s and 0s. So a very simple thing you might want to do is add two numbers together. For example 4 + 5 = 9, or in binary terms 100 + 101 = 1001. You can do this with electronic components, or circuits, like normal computers do, but we’re trying to build circuits out of dominoes.”

So by placing thousands of dominoes (and using a huge amount of skill!) in a complex circuit pattern and then setting off domino chains where a falling domino represents a binary code change from 0 to 1, the Domino Computer will, in theory, be able to add together two 3-digit binary numbers and get a 4-digit answer.

The computer will be built in front of MOSI's
replica of The Baby - the world's first
stored-program computer

A project as ambitious as this takes a lot of planning and testing. From the risk of rogue falling dominoes to an error in the circuit design, there is a lot that could potentially go wrong. So along with his team of volunteers and armed with more dominoes than we’ve ever seen in one place before, Matt recently visited MOSI to test out the floor (which thankfully proved to be flat and smooth enough to host the challenge) and try out some initial circuit designs. Despite the urge to knock over the domino chains (who wouldn’t be tempted?) we managed to resist and looked on in slight awe as the team created a few small test circuits and posed with our photographer for a few snaps.

So what’s made Matt want to take on one of his most fiddliest and nerve-biting challenges to date? It’s all about explaining the mysteries of computing:

“When people look at a computer, no one really understands how it works. For most people it’s a mystery box where ‘magic’ happens, so we want to show them a laid out example of a very, very basic computer. We’re showing how if you carefully plan and organise physical objects, in this case dominoes, they can ‘think’ and do calculations. This is the basis of all computing and we just want to show people at a fundamental level how that happens.”

Well said Matt, and we can’t wait to see it in action!

Event info:

The Domino Computer Challenge will take place on Sat 27th and Sun 28th Oct in MOSI’s Manchester Revolution Gallery, and as well as watching the construction team in action, building the computer domino by domino, there will be the chance to have a go yourself with some smaller domino hands-on activities. And if you miss the computer being "switched on" don't worry - the team will be creating a time lapse video to capture the whole thing!

by Nicola Frost, Science Festival Project Officer, MOSI

Newbie Picks

I've just joined the Manchester Science Festival team and thought I’d begin with a blog about what I’m most excited about in the programme this year. I've picked my favourites from each section. Let me know yours!

Family Fun

Meteorite day 

Some of you may have been lucky enough to see the meteorite streaking through the sky in the UK last weekend. This event gives you the chance to get your hands on real pieces of space rock over 4 billion years old and look at moon rocks brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. We’ll also hear about the ways in which scientists are using these ancient rocks to explain the mysteries of our solar system! Can’t wait! 

Make, Do and Hack

Culturing bioluminescent bacteria 

I remember watching the King of natural history Sir David Attenborough on Blue Planet, exploring the wonders of the deep, and being fascinated by the wondrous creatures living in our oceans. Creatures that can create their own light in order to repel predators or attract prey, seem very ‘other-worldly’ and I’m dying to recreate this phenomenon in our MadLab! 

Art Meets Science

What am I worth? 

The issues of organ donation generate a vast range of opinions affected by many factors but it’s a subject that could potentially affect us all during our lives. This performance explores the subject in a light-hearted way and there’s even an opportunity to test our views in an after-show debate.

Science After Dark

Science on the Screen 

As a film fanatic who loves a good sci-fi movie, I can’t think of anything better than gathering to watch this diverse range of flicks exploring the implications of scientific developments in the pop-up HD cinema in MOSI’s 1830s warehouse. Picks: GATTACA and Contagion. 

Join the Conversation

The battle for the internet 

Social media has exploded in the last five years. With many of us living out our lives online, this discussion (led by technology strategists Norman Lewis, Mindy Gofton and Keith Teare, explores the future of the internet and the controversial topic of regulation.

Walks and Tours

The archaeology of a revolution 

How many of us have walked along a street in Manchester or Salford and wondered about the history of the impressive buildings - some of which still proudly declare their origins? With so much fusion between industrial heritage and new developments, this tour takes us along Salford’s Chapel Street through to Manchester. Put on your cosy coat and enjoy as the story unfolds.

Gabriella

Request a brochure: info@manchestersciencefestival.com
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MSF11 podcasts now online!

The hubbub of Manchester Science Festival has calmed down and we've unleashed the first two in our series of weekly podcasts, all recorded at events during last October’s Manchester Science Festival.

First off, listen to the lovely Nija Dalal interview the people behind the Microbiology and art exhibition at Madlab, which was launched just before the festival and ran until middle of November. The pieces in the exhibition were produced by science undergraduates at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and members of the Manchester DIYBio group (who run workshops where you can have a go at do-it-yourself bioscience). Professor Joanna Verran led the project and you can find out more on the MMU website.

Secondly, you can hear extracts from Timandra Harkness and Matt Parkers' maths comedy show, Your Days Are Numbered: the maths of death, at MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry). Matt was also awarded the Joshua Phillips Award in Science Communication on the evening. Timandra and Matt are currently touring the UK with the show; head over to their website for tour dates and reviews.

You can find all of the podcasts on the Manchester Science Festival website.

Majestic Fragility: Our Earth's Polar Regions

Polar

Royal Northern College of Music
Sunday 23 October
First performance 3pm, Second performance 7pm
Cost & Booking: £10 (restricted view), £20, £25, £30. Booking required. You can also purchase tickets in person at the RNCM

Combining the majesty of the earth’s polar regions with a stunning live orchestral score, Polar is sure to be a unique and thrilling film and musical experience.

The Royal Northern College of Music’s largest screen will host white blizzards and humpback whales, while the Manchester Camera perform a specially arranged score conducted by John Harle.

Polar is an immersive event that will leave the whole family astounded.

Manchester Science Festival blogger Nija Dalal caught up with producer Andrew Glester in the lead up to the Festival premiere.

First off, tell me about Polar. What’s the event going to be like for festival go-ers?Polar is a combination of high-definition footage from the best natural history filmmakers in the world, the same people that make BBC natural history programs. All the archival footage we used is about the Poles, the arctic and the Antarctic. And we worked w/ The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and John Harle to compose the live score. At the Manchester Science Festival, the Manchester Camerata will be accompanying the film with a score by John Harle, made of music written just for Polar, along with other classical compositions.

The thing is, for every BBC documentary that gets made, there’s hours and hours of footage that doesn’t make it into the BBC programs. They’re interested in the showing the exciting 5 seconds of an attack, but we’re interested in the reality of life, which includes a lot of quiet moments.

Because it’s a live show, we have more leeway to do experimental things that you can’t see on television. For example, there’s a sequence in Polar which is about seven or eight minutes long, and it’s just footage of the Aurora Borealis, with a piece of really odd classical music.

We’ve taken footage that they shot for other documentaries but didn’t use, so even though the footage already existed, it’s never been seen before! We’ve made something new out of it.

The screen fills whole back of the Royal Northern College of Music’s stage. Polar is about being transported to world which most of us will never go to in the company of this incredible live music. The most amazing thing about it is that it’s a live event. You can’t see Polar w/out going to see it live.

How did you get interested in the Poles and decide to make this film?

I think Jacques Cousteau was right when he said “It’s easier to protect what you love.” We wanted to make things that inspire a love for our planet.  Or the people of our planet, or the wildlife, the nature. And not just our planet, the universe, everything.

As far as choosing to focus on the Poles, well, the magic of the Poles is that so few of us will ever get to go and experience that world. There’s a sense of going somewhere that you could never see, really, or you are very unlikely to see. And with Polar, it’s like being taken on a journey to that world, because of the huge scale of the screen.

The Manchester Science Festival is Polar’s second performance. It premiered at Liverpool in January. What was the reaction like?

Some people have said it was an honour to be at the concert, which was wonderful.

I think the amazing thing for us was seeing how many really young children, 3-5 year olds, were enjoying it. It’s not surprising, though, because the film is very visual, very interesting.

There’s a moment when the polar bear comes on screen for the first time, and you can hear the joy in the audience. Another time, some penguins are falling over and playing, and you can hear the audience just laughing along. Or you see the underwater world of a pod of beluga whales interacting, set to John Harle’s music.

There are moments that aren’t quite so joyful as well. But it’s all part of an emotional experience that’s unparalleled. You sit somebody down with a live orchestra, playing music they would never listen to in their house, you show them footage they’d never see on their televisions… you get something kind of unbelievable. You get these amazing long weird sequences, things that are different, like nothing anyone’s seen before. And those sequences are often people’s favourite parts of the show. Because it’s so different.  

The feeling you get from watching Polar is just like nothing else.

Apart from inspiring people to love the planet, you are also interested in the ecological impacts of your productions, right?

Yes, there’s something quite nice ecologically about this film, too. Travelling to these places would have a huge carbon footprint, whereas this footage was already filmed. We just made something new out of things that already existed.

And when we send the show around, we send a hard drive and a conductor. The footprint of the show is very small. I don’t want to shout too much about that, because the lowest footprint is of course no show at all.

I’m interested in low-carbon shows, though. I like the idea of maybe doing a cycle-powered show. 

Why did you think of having live classical music played to it? What is the connection between nature film and music for you?

In a way, Polar combines some great interests of mine. I’m a science geek, and I love classical music. I wanted, with Polar, to make something that people come and experience and have a wonderful time.

But the truth is that because the footage is so grand, stark, huge and inspiring, orchestral music just feels right.

What did you learn about the Poles as a result of this work?How do you think this film helps people engage with science?

Here’s how I look at it: I already know what the northern lights are, I’ve read about them.

In a way, I knew what they were, but in another… I didn’t.

I think that even if people know about the northern lights, if they haven’t seen them personally, there’s something visceral to be learned about them by seeing them this way…

The idea of Polar is to inspire people to want to know about the Poles.

I think it’s impossible to sit and look at the northern lights and not want to know what is really going on there…It’s impossible to look at polar bears and not be fascinated about their lives.

It’s near the start of the Manchester Science Festival and it might also be the start of a lot of people’s exploration of sciences.

The Manchester Science Festival presents Polar: An HD journey to the magical frozen oceans at the ends of our earth

Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9RD
Sunday 23 October
First performance 3pm, Second performance 7pm
Cost & Booking: £10 (restricted view), £20, £25, £30. Booking required. You can also purchase tickets at the RNCM.

Messages from space - Gagarin celebration at MOSI

We had a brilliant time yesterday. We were making and launching rockets with the museum's fabulous presenters and 'sending' messages to and from space at MOSI, all in celebration of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space 50 years ago. Kids were asked to write messages that they would send back to Earth if they were the first person in space. Here are our favourites...

Festival Director, Natalie Ireland, making rockets.

"I have reached the moon. Let's get cake when I come back."



"Hello Mum. You are the Jupiter in my solar sytem. XXX"



"In the future we may discover bacterial life on Europa. Please can I be alive to see that."

 Check out the rest of the photos on our Flickr group. Thanks to everyone who came along and participated. We had over 200 messages and they were all fantastic!

50th anniversary of Yuri Gargarin's flight into space

It’s been three weeks since our last post, so here’s some epic history to make up for our absence.

Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space when he lauched from Kazakstan on April 12th 1961, and this month we’ll be honouring the 50th anniversary of this mission by taking part in a nationwide day of rocket launching - Rockets for Yuri. Come and make rockets and send them off into the sky with us at the Museum of Science and Industry. We'll be there between 11-1pm and 2-4pm but there will be other activities, including Planetarium shows, at the museum throughout the day. Check out the Festival website for details.

After orbiting the earth and returning safely, Gagarin promptly commenced a world tour. This included a visit to Manchester and Trafford three months after his flight and we’ve managed to uncover some photos of this appearance. 



Gagarin on Chester Road, near the Manchester United football ground.

Taken by Bill Wilcox, an amateur photographer, working for Smith's Autos on Chester Road in Stretford.






Gagarin greets the crowds in Manchester



Yuri Gagarin and Bernard Lovell



Bring on 2011!

Happy New Year! We’re back, raring to go and have bravely committed ourselves to writing one blog a week for our New Year’s resolution. We’ll be here to ramble and write on everything from neutrons to neurons, with a particular emphasis on activity in Manchester.

Let’s start by shaking off the Christmas cobwebs and having a peek at what’s going on science-wise in the neighborhood this month!

For an epic Saturday trip, hop on the train to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, where the World Premier of Polar will be hosted this weekend. This show combines stunning footage of Earths’ Arctic and Antarctic regions and a live orchestral soundtrack arranged and conducted by John Harle.

BBC 2 are currently running a new series, Stargazing LIVE, presented by Brian Cox and Dara O Briain, to inspire a generation to look to the skies and learn to stargaze. This started on Monday and a programme of live events around the country have been arranged to compliment these broadcasts. To experience this first hand, head down to MMU’s John Dalton building on 13th January for a talk from Dr Paul Ruffle about the birth, life and death of starts, hosted by Manchester Astronomical Society. Image by John Gray (Eoepaidh on Flickr), taken in the Outer Hebridies.
MOSI will also be running an event later in January - more details next week!

Let us know what you think of any of these events and we look forward to seeing you at events in 2011.

Emily Wiles, Manchester Science Festival Officer

Plastics: Ask the Experts

Visitors to Plastics: A valuable resource posed some interesting questions to the Manchester Polymer Group. Here are the questions and some answers:

Vimto Vicky says heya and smile

Becky advises us to try and stop global warming by not using as many aerosols and to hang our washing outside to dry (if is not raining)

Very useful comments Becky. However it is good to note that ozone depletion chemicals previously used in aerosols are now no longer used under an international agreement.

Am from Stockport “Why haven’t all new houses/builds got solar panels/cells”

Another good question. There may be cost and public acceptance issues that need to be addressed.

Daniel Lewis from Chorlton “Do you use solar power, hydropower, geothermal power or wind power more”

Assuming that your question relates to plastics production and recycling operations, hydropower is used in those countries that have the geographical capability and have invested in this technology. As far as we are aware solar and wind power can also be used for less power demanding operations. Investment is also starting in an Energy from Waste plant in Cheshire.

Annie “Why do things melt”

Melting is the result of enough heat energy being transferred into a material, such as chocolate, to turn it into a liquid. So when you eat chocolate, it melts in your mouth because the temperature of your mouth is higher than the temperature at which chocolate melts.

Rebecca from Chorlton “Where do plastics come from”

Hannah from Chorlton “Why is plastic such a common material”

Plastics come from crude oil or gas after refining and account for 4% of the fossil fuel resources. They appear to be in common use because they are very versatile and can be used in many different ways.

Isobel “Why cannot we recycle all plastic”

Good question. It is possible to recycle all thermoplastic type materials (but not the thermosets such as light switches etc). However it comes down to the economics and, in some cases, it costs more to generate the recycled plastic in comparison to the new material. This situation will probably change in the near future.

Christie and Alexa “How many times can a piece of plastic be recycled”

Plastic can be recycled many times. Tests have shown that reprocessing can be carried out ten times without any influence on appearance and performance. This depends on good separation and cleaning of the different plastic types. In reality some fresh plastic will be added at a low level to ensure good performance of the article.

Melon “When is the plastic taken and how can we take it there to be recycled”

Emily from Chorlton “Do you have to recycle to bins”

Jay who is 4 years old “Which recycle bin do you put plastics in”

All of Greater Manchester now collects plastic bottles via your BROWN bin

Arrianne who is 7 years old “How many chairs does it take to make a key ring”

Actually a key ring only uses a small amount of the plastic from a chair. A chair will probably make something like 200 key rings.

Thomas, 8 years old “What happens if you leave your plastic in the rain”

Ben from Stockport “Why do my toys turn white when I leave them in the garden”

Most plastics are water resistant and it is one of the reasons for their wide use.

However some of the pigments that are used to give nice bright colours are not very stable in sunlight and bleach.

Roof Tile – “What about the cost and weathering. Are they fire resistant?”

The roof tiles made from recycled plastic are fire resistant and have passed weathering tests. They are more expensive than conventional tile material but have a much lower carbon footprint.

Georgia “How many machines [for recycling plastics] have been sold and how long do they last for”

David replies “Hmmm a very simple question but not so easy to answer!! We manufacture such a wide range of equipment, and coupled with the fact that the press and shredder are only now really going into production. Here are some figures based around our core product and relevant machinery:

Manufacturing totals something like 36,500 including Heat press, Shredder, Injection Moulder, Vacuum Formers and Line Benders.

Our products are generally regarded as very robust and even in the classroom environment we still repair machines which are about 30 years old, most people change due to modern advancement rather than the machine wearing out, so I guess we could safely put a figure of about 20 years

Manchester Polymer Group would like to thank all of the children and adults who posted such a varied and challenging list of questions.

2009 Josh Award winner announced

David Price from Science Made Simple has won this year's Joshua Phillips Award for Science Engagement. David is well known for his science busking, training and engaging presentation style. He was presented with the Award on Thursday at MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) at the Manchester Science Festival. Natalie Ireland, Festival Director said: "We're delight David has won this year's Award. David used to work at the Museum of Science and Industry and so it's very fitting that he has now won this Award. We are really looking forward to working with David over the next year". David will be presenting the Science of Sport on Sunday 1 November at MOSI on the lasy day of the Festival.

Call for nominations for 2009 Josh Award

Nominations for the 2009 Josh Award are now open. The Josh Award recognises excellent and innovation in science engagement and is open to anyone to anyone involved in science engagement.

Previous winners include Chris Smith from the Naked Scientists and Karen Bultitude from the science communication unit at the University of West England.

The award is named in memory of Josh Philips, Science Communication Officer at the Museum of Science and Industry, who died in November 2006. Josh was an excellent and much respected science communicator, whose outstanding career is recognised with this award.

If you know a scientist, practitioner or presenter who excells in science communication and you would like to consider nominating them for this award, more information and the nomination form can be found here: http://www.manchestersciencefestival.com/news/joshaward

Poet in Residence

A.V.Roe.
That first flight in 1908
his name might have entered the record books
but a number out
a witness misplaced
and the name fades, a colour-wash drawing lifts
from the paper before it is set
soars above Manchester
and paints its lines over the map of the world.

by Helen Clare, Poet in Residence, Museum of Science and Industry.

For more information about the residency.


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