Daksha Patel: Signal / Noise : Imaging / Drawing

About

Signal / Noise: Imaging/Drawing is an exhibition of drawings and animations by Manchester-based artist and researcher Daksha Patel including recent work based on medical and scientific data and imaging technologies. Her work is shown alongside artefacts and works of art selected by Daksha from the collections of the University of Dundee.

Daksha is interested in unpredictability and the unknown in both art and science, and her drawing practice often employs unstable materials, such as animal fat, clay, and latex. Engaging with systems of measurement, mapping, and technologies for scanning the human body and the environment, she explores what a manually produced drawing can reveal through the processes of drawing in its simplicity, immediacy and directness.

Drawing is a fundamental part of the scientific research process – from a sketch to quickly communicate the findings of an experiment, to data-driven animations showing molecular interactions. Likewise the impact of technological advancements in imaging is a key concern for artists (LifeSpace’s first artist residency in 2015 was with our Imaging Facility). Here in Dundee we offer degree courses in animation, medical art and medical imaging, connecting digital image processes to hand-drawn interpretation. This exhibition curated for this year’s Women in Science Festival, fits Dundee's interdisciplinarity by showcasing an inspiring practice of drawing beyond imaging.

Daksha Patel recently was part of a residency in Imaging Science at the University of Manchester which informs work in this exhibition. She has also undertaken residencies with the Christie Hospital (2010) and Neuroscience at King’s College (2014). In 2016 she was nominated for the Art Gemini Prize. This is her first exhibition in Scotland.

Part of the Women in Science Festival, 4-10 March 2017.