Ruth Christman

My work explores the value of combining the perspective of both science and art to develop a deeper understanding of the world around us.

Lichens have been the focus of this project and have opened an opportunity for the consideration of scale, perspective and the notion of reciprocity; the value of working together.

Lichens are a form of symbiosis between algae and fungi. The fungi create the thallus, the form of the lichen, which creates an environment suitable for algae to survive in. In exchange for the home they provide, the fungi siphon sugar the algae produce from photosynthesis. I have created a large-scale representation of the world within the lichen, inspired by images I captured with an electron scanning microscope during my research for this project.

The intention of this work is to facilitate interesting and unique memory creation and curious, playful interaction through both physical and conceptual engagement with the work.

I create my work through a combination of interdisciplinary research methods, contemporary digital processes and traditional hand skills such as welding, smithing, slip casting and hand raising.

The clay element was created by using the microscope images, warping and digitally modelling these images, and then 3D printing the models. Once printed, a plaster mould was made and the forms were slip cast to create hollow shells. These were nested in hand-raised steel vessels. All of the steel tendrils have been smithed and bent by hand.