Collaborators
Dr Ian Thompson, Medical Device Innovation, Dental Institute King's College London
Dr Ian Thompson is currently a Senior Lecturer in Medical Device Innovation at King’s College London and is Paddy's lead collaborative science partner on 'Papaver Rhoeas'. Ian is based at the Guy’s Hospital campus of Kings College London and has responsibility for bringing scientific discoveries through to functioning therapies and devices for a wide range of medical conditions.
Over the past ten years Ian has lead a series of sci-art projects brining the latest scientific developments to the public (schools) is a thought provoking and creative way. In collaboration with Paddy, 'Project Facade' is just one example where World War One uniforms were used to illustrate the development of plastic surgery techniques and the therapy injured servicemen underwent.
Ian started his career at Queen Mary & Westfield College, London as a biomedical materials engineer, he moved onto Imperial College London where he obtained his PhD and led a research team for over ten years.
In addition to holding an academic post, Ian is also a Director of a number of med tech companies and assists in the innovation of new ideas and bringing them to market.
One of Ian’s latest project has been the development and commercialisation of an air polishing powder used to treat tooth sensitivity, but has worked on the development of orthopaedic devices and assisted in a team developing biological sensors for the early detection of bio-terrorism attacks. Also Ian is responsible for some clinical duties, he leads a team of engineers in producing craniofacial implants for the repair of the facial bones.
Ian is also developing an initiative which uses of a series of science books, based around a robotic cat called Boing Boing, to help children engage with STEM subjects in a self-learning and imaginative way.
Dr Ian Thompson, Dental Institute, King's College London.
William Edwards, (BSc (Hons), MSc) Curator of the Gordon Museum, Senior Tutor and Deputy course director of the Extended Medical degree Programme (EMPD). King's College London.
Working primarily with undergraduate medical and dental education, Mr Edwards also with many para-medical specialties. He occasionally assists various police forces in cold case investigations and works on behalf of Kings College London (KCL) with the Access to Medicine and Widening Participation programmes. He also represents KCL with issues relating to Medical Museums, the UK Human Tissue Authority, Medical History and Art and Medicine.
Edwards studied as an undergraduate and postgraduate in the University of London in Biology and has a particular background in physiology and developmental biology. He has worked as a scientist in industry, moving into medical and dental education in the Gordon Museum at the Guy's Hospital Campus in 1980. After five years moved to St. Thomas’ Hospital Campus to take over the then independent Pathology Museum. After seven years and the merger of the pathology museums at Guy's and St. Thomas’, Edwards returned to the Guy’s campus as deputy Curator, and has been Curator now for the last sixteen years.
During his tenure as Curator of the Gordon Museum he has contributed expertise and support to a number of artist both in residence and visiting. Mr Edwards role in Papaver Rhoeas has been to work alongside Paddy Hartley sharing his considerable expertise in tissue fixation and preservation of the work that Hartley has produced.
Mr William Edwards, Curator of The Gordon Museum of Pathology, King's College London.
Professor Malcolm Logan, Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London.
The objectives of Professor Logan’s work are to understand how the limbs are formed normally during embryogenesis, the origins and pathology of congenital limb abnormalities and other diseases that effect the function of the musculoskeletal system in humans. Limb defects are the second most common congenital abnormality present in human live births and diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system are a significant clinical problem, particularly in the older population.
Professor Logan’s role in Papaver Rhoeas has been to work alongside Paddy Hartley, contributing expertise in developing tissue clearing processes to render the work transparent or in some cases, to halt the tissue clearing process at a specific stage. He has collaborated with several artists such as Tamsin Van Essen and has hosted NIMR-artist-in-residence, Ju Gosling who produced the exhibition ‘Abnormal: Towards a Scientific Model of Disability’ (partly sponsored by the Wellcome trust) that was inspired by her placement. There is also an accompanying publication titled ‘Abnormal’ (Bettany Press).
Niamh White. Curator.
Niamh White is an independent visual arts curator. She is a co-founder of Hospital Rooms, an initiative that commissions artists to renovate mental healthcare wards, and the curator of The Pierrot Project, which connects artists with contemporary classical composers in a series of ongoing exhibitions and events. She is also a visiting lecturer for various universities in the UK. Niamh was Curator of Exhibitions at SHOWstudio between 2011 and 2015 where she commissioned projects with Iris van Herpen, Shaun Leane, Noritaka Tatehana and Anj Smith among many others. Each exhibition was accompanied by in depth supplementary online content that included documenting and broadcasting artists and designers’ processes, interviews and essays. White's exhibitions have received international press coverage from publications such as Time Magazine, the Independent, the Scotsman, Vanity Fair, Garage Magazine, A Magazine, W Magazine, Wonderland and Vogue among others. She has spoken at international conferences including MoBA in the Netherlands and the International Fashion Showcase in London. Prior to her tenure at SHOWstudio, she was gallery manager at Hauser & Wirth working on projects such as Christoph Buchel's Piccadilly Community Centre and Rachel Khedoori’s Iraq Book Project. She completed her undergraduate degree at Goldsmiths College in History of Art.
Niamh White. Curator.
image credit: Vicky Grout