A Framework for Action and Reflection: Using Play to Understand the Relationships between Art Practice and Life Science

Berry-Frith, Joanne (2025) A Framework for Action and Reflection: Using Play to Understand the Relationships between Art Practice and Life Science. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

My hypothesis asserts that integrating play into art–science research creates an innovative collaborative framework that promotes reflection and multidisciplinary interaction. This thesis investigates play as a research tool to enhance advanced imaging and microscopy in life and natural sciences, cultivating an aesthetic sensibility that enriches both artistic and scientific exploration. I argue that play can elicit technological, ethnographic, dialogic, practice-based and process-led data, by engaging with interpretative and critical aspects of art as research. By focusing on play as a vehicle to explore the intersection of art and science, I aim to enhance creativity and encourage unorthodox problem-solving by subverting scientific protocol. A flexible play-based art practice demonstrates how play can extend traditional scientific methods and facilitate new learning in technology, visualisation and communication through working constructively with scientists. Core themes informing my three imaging-lab art projects include play, digital drawing, pixel granularity, dissemination and the reimagining of scientific image conventions. Each lab was selected for its novel imaging technologies, and the life- and natural- science source data were unique to each facility. Findings emerged from the analysis of distinct data and imaging technologies, and from applying art-practice research methods to three projects, which resulted in digital drawing, data montage and film. The result is the creation of an adaptable framework for art–science collaborations. This framework is designed to foster collaboration through play, leading to a system to create artwork that can be used for dissemination, to encourage critical feedback that deepens understanding of interdisciplinary practices, and fosters ongoing dialogue between art and science.

Art Project One: From 2015 to 2019 I collaborated with scientists at the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Membrane Proteins and Receptors (COMPARE), adopting a play-based approach to challenge conventional Confocal, Light and Super Resolution Microscopy techniques, revealing aesthetic imaging not previously explored. This led to customised experiments, speculative testing of cell signalling protocols and enhanced data processing to capture material modifications observed in the lab. Artistic outcomes were shared at COMPARE 2017 and 2018, with a framework for action and reflection, enabling artists and scientists to compare responses from pharmacology experiments. I developed an adaptive software experimental model which reframed interdisciplinary understanding and extended imaging protocols.

Art Project Two: At the Natural History Museum’s Science Infrastructure Platforms Imaging and Analysis Centre (2015, 2024), I used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to push its optical limits, redefining protocols and documenting interdisciplinary interactions. Through two-way collaboration and independent exploration, I produced previously unseen visuals, breaking scientific norms and introducing new techniques. I reimagined versatile imaging as a three-dimensional sketch in Adobe Illustrator, advancing discourse on drawing and technology. Training in SEM fostered innovation and interdisciplinary learning.

Art Project Three: From 2016 to 2019, I collaborated with the Biofilms Research Centre at Malmö University, and the Centre for Cellular Imaging at Gothenburg University, Sweden, using multi-photon microscopy to explore skin as raw data. Immersing myself in experimental preparations, I mirrored scientists’ practices while fostering trust in order to exchange creative ideas. Through two-way collaboration with the Core Imaging Manager, we generated unique datasets, which were presented at the Biofilms Research Centre (2018) and SCANDEM (2019). The images were then presented as part of a performance, Skin/KIN live, at The Lab, Royal Birmingham (2019).

This research uses participatory action-research methodology, integrating cycles of action and reflection to gather primary data and encourage scientists to reassess their technologies, fostering creative autonomy (Dickens and Watkins, 1999). Disrupting empirical protocols constructively provided key insights for me and my collaborators, demonstrating how interdisciplinary communication can lead to novel outcomes. By countering computational data analysis with digital drawing, the research highlights drawing’s potential for discovery, innovation and authorship. My contribution lies in integrating play-based art practices with scientific research, creating a replicable framework that bridges art and science, promotes creative exploration and drives the evolution of interdisciplinary practices. New collaborations, exhibitions, conference presentations and publications will further enrich academic discourse, driving innovation and enhancing the understanding of scientific concepts through artistic methodologies.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 29 September 2025 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Art–Science; Advanced Imaging and Microscopy; Digital Technology; Play; Serious Play; Drawing; Montage; Moving Image: Software; A Framework for Action and Reflection, Art-practice methodology; Participatory Action Research (PAR); Scanning Electron Microscopy: Confocal Micriscopy; Super Resolution Microscopy; Multiphoton Microscopy; Nottingham University; Gothenburg University; Malmo University; the Natural History Museum, London; Core Imaging Labs; Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Subjects:	CAH00 - multidisciplinary > CAH00-00 - multidisciplinary > CAH00-00-00 - multidisciplinary CAH03 - biological and sport sciences > CAH03-01 - biosciences > CAH03-01-04 - microbiology and cell science CAH07 - physical sciences > CAH07-04 - general, applied and forensic sciences > CAH07-04-04 - natural sciences (non-specific) CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-01 - creative arts and design > CAH25-01-01 - creative arts and design (non-specific) CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-01 - creative arts and design > CAH25-01-02 - art
Divisions:	Arts > Art and Design Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	01 Oct 2025 08:57
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2025 08:57
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16656

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