Dark Places, a new programme by The Arts Catalyst and SCAN, is a series of artists' projects and events that examining territories of science and scientific sites in the UK. Six artists' research projects were selected for Dark Places: Chris Oakley, Simon Hollington & Kypros Kyprianou, Neal White, Steve Beard & Victoria Halford, Lucy Panesar and Susan Collins.
Dark Places exhibition
Neal White, and Steve Beard & Victoria Halford, will be showing new commissions in the exhibition Dark Places, opening at the John Hansard Gallery, Autumn 2008.
Neal White, working with Steve Rowell from the Centre for Land Use Interpretation, is conducting research into a range of extraordinary facilities that remain closed or concealed around the UK. Combining field observation, alternative knowledge gathering and experimental geography techniques with a range of other standard and non-standard research methods, the culmination of these interpretational activities will feed into an 'open' online database and physical collection. Neal will be working with UCL's Departments of Geography and Science & Technology Studies, where he is artist in residence.
Writer Steve Beard & artist Victoria Halford are working with the Health and Safety Laboratory in Buxton, Derbyshire, to highlight the process of accident investigation and safety engineering.
Nuclear landscapes
Chris Oakley, and Simon Hollington & Kyp Kyprianou showed their new works in the exhibition Nuclear: Art & Radioactivity, November 2008 in London.
Chris Oakley's new film explores the cyclic histories of Harwell, birthplace of the UK nuclear industry, and the new development of fusion energy technology at Culham in Oxfordshire.
Simon Hollington & Kypros Kyprianou created a new installation focusing on changing perceptions of the nuclear power industry over its 50 year history.
Pharmaceuticals and corporate social responsibility
Performance artist Lucy Panesar researched the marketing of drugs and therapies to control our negative emotions. Corporate Personae was a performance by Lucy Panesar and a seminar around the subject of her research into corporate social responsibility which took place at Space Gallery, May 2007.
Dark matter
Breaking into a literally dark place, Susan Collins plans to capture the sounds of the long wait for evidence of dark matter from the Boulby Mine Underground Laboratory for Dark Matter Research in Cleveland.