Journal of Science Communication· 2026Q2
A new poetics of place: engaging public audiences with deep science through an art-science installation
- 0citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
An art-science installation, 'Perpetual Motion,' juxtaposed a handmade carpet based on neuronal grid cell firing patterns with a mobile of ancient human migration maps, exploring how artists can directly engage with scientific visual languages to foster public understanding of complex science.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The 'Perpetual Motion' installation merged a handmade carpet (neuronal grid cell firing patterns) with a mobile (ancient human migration maps).
- The artwork was created under conditions of confinement and practical constraints, influencing its development.
- The installation explored artists engaging directly with scientific visual languages, not just illustrating them.
- Visitor interactions provided insights into the conceptual juxtaposition of different scales of 'path-taking'.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This essay offers a practitioner reflection on an art–science installation titled Perpetual Motion, presented at Art Central Hong Kong in 2021. The work places visitors between two records of path-taking: a handmade carpet derived from the firing patterns of neuronal grid cells and a suspended mobile of pre-1500 AD mtDNA haplogroup maps tracing deep-time human migrations. Developed under conditions of enforced confinement and shaped by the practical constraints of access, copyright, and institutional ownership of scientific imagery, the installation explores what becomes possible when an artist works directly inside high-profile scientific visual languages rather than illustrating them from the outside. Drawing on observations and visitor questions recorded during facilitated sessions, the essay examines the conceptual operation of juxtaposing these two scales of path-taking and the practical realities of presenting such work in a high-traffic public setting. It contributes to the growing body of practitioner accounts that document the productive frictions and modest possibilities of aesthetic engagement with complex science.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Science Communication, 2026 · DOI ↗
Continue with a free account
Ask the paper: 3 free questions a day about this paper; save it, get its citation, new summaries every day for your field. Takeaways are Premium.
Continue free on the webSign in with Google or Apple; no card needed. You come back to this paper.
On your phone:
Field: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Visual Arts and Performing ArtsArts and Humanities