Sci-Art

In 1952 a young Research Assistant in King's College London took an X-ray picture of DNA molecules. This picture, called "Photo 51", was one of the basic experimental evidence on which Watson and Crick based the theory of the structure of the DNA and this Research Assistant was Rosalind Franklin*.

"Photo 51" of the DNA molecule taken by Rosalind Franklin

Apart from the structure of DNA, Franklin had a major contribution on the study of the structures of RNA, tobacco mosaic and polio viruses. She died from ovarian cancer at the age of 37, in 1958.

However, her work still inspires people and not only scientists.

At a random search on the internet I came across some really interesting pieces of art by Wyllie O Hagan. The artists were inspired by "Photo 51" and, breathing life into it, they transformed it into vibrant and stimulating artworks that have been exhibited at the Smith Killian Gallery in Charleston, SC, USA in 2007.

The titles from top left are: A Vision of Rosalind 1,  A Vision of Rosalind 2,

 A Vision of Rosalind 3 and A Vision of Rosalind for OCNA

Science seems to be a recurrent theme of their work as they have also done another exhibition titled "Transformation in Science and Art", created during an Arts Residency with the Cancer Research UK group in the Department of Oncology at University College London.
Here are some more pieces of their science-related work that have impressed me.

Moreover, a monumental 40 meter digital print of their work hangs in The Royal Mint Building in London.

My absolute favorite is the "Vision of Rosalind for OCNA". I just find it captivating. I am always amazed when people are able to look at science through a different prism and appreciate its beauty.


* Rosalind Franklin took the picture with  Raymond Gosling- a PhD student assigned to help her

** All the pictures were taken from Wyllie O Hagan's official site and copies for most of the paintings can be bought here.