Sam Leach - Science Week (Art forum)

Science has been a theme of marginal, though perhaps growing, importance in contemporary art. James Elkins has talked extensively about the limited nature of art engagement with science while has been limited as pointed out more optimistic critics such as Sian Ede and Arthur Miller argue for hybrid forms and suggest that arts ambiguity is apt for considering the complexity of science. This talk will look at visual representations of science from the seventeenth century to the contemporary, considering how these images reflect the cultural history of science. The focus for the historical context will be tracing the origins of the tension between science practice and science communication from the origins of modern science in the seventeenth century, through the expansion of science into the public realm in the enlightenment of the eighteenth century and into the split between art and science which began in the early romantic era and continued into the twentieth century. Finally the talk will consider how this legacy poses problems for contemporary art which addresses science as increasing numbers of contemporary artists consider the implications of science and work on art-science collaborations. Leach’s paintings deal with the relationship between humans and non human animals and between science and art. He has had numerous solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions, in Australia and abroad. Recent solo exhibitions include The Ecstasy of Infrastructure, TarraWarra Museum of Art, 2011, and We have never been modern at the Hong Kong Art Fair. Leach has been the subject of considerable media attention, featuring on the front page of Melbourne’s Age newspaper, and in an ABC documentary about his work. Leach’s work has won several awards, including the Metro Prize and the Geelong Gallery prize in 2006, the Eutick Memorial Still Life award and the Siemens Art Prize and travelling scholarship in 2007 and both the Wynne and Archibald Prizes at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2010. He is currently completing a Ph.D in Fine Art.