ABOUT JENNY WALSH

Artist statement

I am a glass artist who combines glass with other materials to create interactive sculptures and installations inspired by science. I’m particularly interested in the role glass has played in supporting scientific innovation. Many of us are drawn to the decorative qualities of glass, but scientists, for centuries, have utilised the optical, inert and insulating properties of glass to support their scientific research. I work with scientists and engineers to inform my practice, creating interactive and visually compelling sculptures and installations. 

Recently my sculptures have been inspired by the communicating patterns of neurons and I drew inspiration from 18th-century scientists who used the conducting properties of copper and the insulating properties of glass to stimulate an exposed nerve. 

Using traditional glass techniques I have created copper and glass sculptures that reflect the neuron form. Inside each neuron is a microcontroller that enables it to communicate with other neurons in the network. The light sequence that shifts through the network responds to the viewer’s interactions or recorded neural data and represents the neural impulses that transmit information through the body.

Although there is a foundation of neuroscience in my artwork, my sculptures do not illustrate science, and the audience is often drawn to the aesthetics of my work before realising it was inspired by a scientific concept. 

Working in a cross-disciplinary environment with scientists, engineers and other artists has opened up new creative opportunities and also attracted a broader audience to my work. By collaborating with other disciplines, the finished work is greater than the sum of its parts and opens up new perspectives and understandings of the world.

Jenny has worked with the Sainsbury’s Wellcome Institute of neural circuits and behaviour. I have also collaborated with Kate Jeffery, a professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at University College London and Ludovic Vallier at the Wellcome Trust Stem Cell Institute as well as Kings College London.
‘Exchanges’ Wellcome Trust – Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

HER EDUCATION

MA Art & Science (Distinction) Central Saint Martins, London (2016)
Fine Art BA (1st Class Hons ) Norwich University of the Arts (2011)

KEY PROJECTS

LINE OF SIGHT

July 2022: Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, London (solo exhibition)

May 2021: ‘Lighting up 2021’, London Light, Kings College London

April 2021: Cambridge Science Festival ‘SciArt Soiree’ with the Cavendish Laboratory.

FRACTURED HELIX

May 2019: Fractured Helix at the historic Anatomy Museum Kings College London and curated by Institute of Light Technologies (London Light)

London Light provides an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment to explore new opportunities for growing research and applications in light. http://london-light.org

INFINITE POTENTIALS

8th Sept 2018 - 13th Jan 2019: Infinite Potentials, SciArt Centre exhibition at New York Hall of Science, New York City, in collaboration with the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
14th June – 14th July 2018: Infinite Potentials, SciArt Centre exhibition at ArtCell, Cambridge in collaboration with Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.

SPIN GLASS

A collaboration with Kate Jeffery, professor in Behavioural Neuroscience University College London and Jeremy Keenan, Central Saint Martins, Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge (2018 )
7th July – 11th July 2018 Spin Glass at FENS Forum of Neuroscience, Berlin.

EXHIBITIONS

London Light Coinciding with UNESCO’s International Day of Light and World Metrology Day 
Kings College London (2019)
The Colour Red-An Explosion Contemporary Glass Society on-line Exhibition (2019)
Spin Glass FENS Forum of Neuroscience, Berlin (2018)
Spin Glass Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge (2018)
Action Potential Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience UCL, London (2017 - )
Potential Realities University College London (2017)
Exchanges Michaels House, Cambridge (2017)
Neural Knitworks Makespace, Cambridge (2017)
Unfolding Realities Central Saint Martins (2016)
Mind-Matter Elthorne Studios, London (2015)
You’re the reason our kids are ugly The Laundry, London (2015)
Black Box Elthorne Studios, London (2014)
Skin Visual Arts Centre, Cambridge (2013)
Recordings Visual Arts Centre, Cambridge (2012)
Elements: Materials World The Forum, Norwich (2011)
The Late Shift The Sainsbury’s Centre, Norwich (2011)
Encounters The Sainsbury’s Centre, Norwich (2010)

PUBLICATIONS

Scientific American MIND Magazine, Featuring ‘Spin Glass’ (Nov/Dec 2018 Issue)
Interalia Magazine, Featuring ‘The Vital Spark’ article by Jenny Walsh (Nov 2018 Issue)
University of Groningen Magazine, Featuring ‘Spin Glass’ (Dec 2018)
Exploring the interface between Art & Science Contemporary Glass Society (Sept 2016)
Breaking down the barriers IS International School (Sept 2013)

MEDIA

Action Potential Film SciArt New York (2017)
SciArt BBC Radio Cambridge (March 2018)
Art inspired by Science BBC Radio Cambridge (June 2017)
The Naked Scientist BBC Radio Cambridge (Feb 2013)

TALKS/WORKSHOPS

Human Sciences in the Arts Symposium at University College London (6th March 2019)
Spin Glass and Head-Direction Cells at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge with Prof. Kate Jeffery. (2018)
Art under the Microscope at the Whipple Science Museum, Cambridge (2016)
Through the Looking Glass-Microscopy at Central Saint Martins, London (2016)
Catching the Light with Shelley James, Moorfields Eye Hospital (July-Dec 2015)
Perception SAW Trust/Cambridge Science Centre (2013)
What colour is light? SAW Trust/Cambridge Science Centre (2013)
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