What happens when art meets academia?
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That is the core idea at one of the latest exhibitions to come out of aMBUSH Gallery Kambri.
INSIGHT OUT sees 24 Australian National University visual art students pair up with an academic undertaking research at the university.
Each pair discussed the research and considered how to convey the information to the general public through art.
The research topics include, among others, memory and truth, heritage rock art, the mechanics of the human knee, stillbirth, solar cells, archaeology, global health and infectious diseases, representations of youth by the media, communication in medical settings, and artificial intelligence.
For the project, artist Samantha Corbett was paired with academic Maya Haviland from ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences to interpret research on co-creativity.
Corbett ultimately chose to convey the research via the medium of a mural.
"What was extremely challenging - but probably one of the most rewarding parts of the project - was together trying to come up with a way to make the conceptual idea of co-creativity accessible to all types of public audiences," she says.
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It's an interesting topic to cover for a project such as INSIGHT OUT.
Co-creativity is what happens when people, organisations, or even things like eco-systems or machines work together to make things they wouldn't or couldn't make on their own.
Effectively the entire exhibition is a representation of Haviland's work.
"I really loved seeing the reflection back of what are quite big ideas through Sam's creative lens. It was great to see her find a way to translate that into a visual form, which is a bit of a dream for someone interested in translational research," Haviland says.
Artist Ashely Cullen teamed up with Christopher Hobson who has researched artificial intelligence. The resulting mural, which features floating fish outside of a woman's window, questions whether artificial intelligence will eventually surpass its creators to an irreparable dystopian effect.
"In a neon simulacrum of floating fish, human facsimiles and ambiguity, this mural responds to Dr Christopher Hobson's research on artificial intelligence, exploring how advancements in the development of AI technology force us to revaluate our own humanness," Cullen says in her artist statement.
"The collaboration with Dr Hobson touches on nascent concepts and imaginings of automated life, offering a glimpse into a future in which the border between human and artificial becomes increasingly blurred."
The 24 original pieces will be presented on six large-scale display cubes along University Avenue until May 7.
Decals placed on the ground in front of each artwork will summarise statements from both the artist and the academic, allowing viewers to gain a greater understanding of how the artistic interpretation came about and the academic study behind it.
QR codes will also be sited nearby that link to more in-depth research papers and information that inspired the art, as well as a longer statement from the artist.
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