Annie Halliday - visual artist working in experimental photomedia

This exhibition in the Gulbenkian Theatre café-bar marked the first public display of work-in-progress emerging from a residency in Biosciences. As a visual artist with a science background, I explored the various spaces, activities, and research, to make artwork in collaboration with scientists in the department.

I discussed recording various zones by means of pinhole photographs. My key contacts, Dr Richard Williamson and Ray Newsam suggested empty reagent water barrels, which are used to provide a pure water source in all the research labs. These strong black plastic containers proved ideal to convert into pinhole cameras. The 25 litre barrels enabled a 12” x 16” paper negative print to be made. Just a tiny hole in a square of aluminium in the front of the barrel made with a map pin yielded a good image on the photographic paper inside the camera. Long exposure times (up to 16 hours), and the curved surface of the picture plane, gave strange images of research laboratories, teaching labs, prep, lecture theatres. All the images show evidence of activity, and the passing of time.

“We think that having an artist-in-residence is a little unusual and a real fusion of art and science.”

  • Dr Richard Williamson Lecturer and Outreach Officer for Biosciences
  • University of Kent

Continue to pinhole photography gallery...