UNSW has joined forces with award-winning photographer Tamara Dean in a unique collaboration that transports us outside the lab and into the elements.
Working in diverse environments from Sydney Harbour and toxic industrial sites to caves, national parks and the heavens above, these researchers have developed a symbiotic relationship with nature.
“Seen through Tamara Dean’s distinctive frame, with its painterly quality, the Wild Researchers exhibition captures our academics in a new, heroic way,” says Denise Knight, Director of Media at UNSW.
Most of the 17 researchers featured are working in scientific areas – from mathematics and indigenous astronomy to climate change and biotechnology – along with a landscape architect and a philosopher.
Dean’s celebrated body of work powerfully explores the relationships people have with the natural world.
“I relished the opportunity to do Wild Researchers as it brings together my two loves – nature and art making,” Dean says.
Wild Researchers is an initiative of the UNSW Media Office, supported by the Division of Advancement. The exhibition was conceived and commissioned as part of Dean’s Artist-in-Residency at UNSW.
An essay by journalist and author Ashley Hay, The Fieldwork of Looking and Seeing, is included in the exhibition catalogue.
EXHIBITION
What: UNSW presents Wild Researchers photo exhibition at the Australian Museum
When: 4 November–13 December 2015
Where: Australian Museum, Level 4 Rooftop Cafe, 1 William Street, Sydney