Nano art: the relationship between science and individual identity

The relationship between science and individual identity is explored in a new Nano Art project that was displayed at the Norwich University of the Arts Degree Show 2014. The project is a collaboration between Imogen Clarke, a recent graduate from Norwich University of the Arts, and King’s Physicists Cillian McPolin, William Wardley, Dr. Wayne Dickson and Prof. Anatoly Zayats. In order to create the display, a fingernail was first covered in the thin gold film, before a patient I.D. number was etched into it on the nanoscale by using a focused ion beam. The Nano Art highlights the dehumanising nature of I.D. numbers, which seem to brand patients, whilst paradoxically aiming to preserve identity.

In an increasing age of materiality, Imogen Clarke’s art aims to question to what extent has humankind become an object of science.