Picturing the Invisible

This network will address a common problem for all disciplines, how to articulate the invisible, that which is not known or that which is not provable. The challenge for academics is how to articulate these concepts, firstly to those within academic field and then beyond, to other disciplines and the public at large. Furthermore, as our understanding of the complexity of the world grows incrementally, so our realisation that issues and problems can rarely be resolved within neat demarcations. Therefore the importance of finding means of communicating across disciplines and fields becomes a priority. So whilst acknowledging the essential importance of the specialist academic, the capacity to understand other disciplines, their priorities, methodologies and even the language used can become crucial in being an effective instrument for change.

This project brings together a number of leading academics from a wide range of disciplines including Art & Design, Curatorial Practice, Literature, Forensic Science, Fashion, Medical Science, Psychoanalysis & Psychotherapy, Philosophy, Astrophysics and Architecture who have all expressed interest in exploring how, in each discipline, we strive to find expression for the invisible or unknown. It is anticipated that as the project develops, further disciplines will be added.

The project takes as its starting point, a closed workshop where the core members of the network will present to each other and discuss areas of convergence and separation. Through the interpretation of the various network members, it will set the agenda and provide common ground from which to develop wider multi-disciplinary debates. Sir John Soane's Museum, who will host the workshop, is an ideal backdrop for a cross disciplinary investigation of the invisible. The museum encompasses a wide range of concerns including social history, architecture, conservation & museology. The concept of the invisible is evident in, not only the plethora of speculative models and drawings but also with Soane's, the fascination with the afterlife, his attempts at memorialisation and the imaginative projection of how his buildings would survive as ruins. This will be followed by an exhibition by the PI at the museum of new work entitled "Picturing the Invisible - The House from Below" made as a response to the museum's collection, and seeks to make apparent the invisible presence of the servants and to focus the public on what is absent within the museum and how this can be made concrete. The exhibition will function as a way of addressing the idea of the invisible and will be an example of practice based research. The informal setting is designed to encourage speculative thinking and free exchange outside of the regular teaching environment.

A website/blog will capture discussions from the events from which the participants will develop formal papers for presentation at the network conference to be held at Chelsea College of Arts (UAL). The conference will also be open to PhD students and early career researchers and will provide not only a forum for exchange but also a platform from which other cross and interdisciplinary projects might grow. A further aspect of the project is to provide a network for the support of cross and interdisciplinary research.

The papers from the conference will form the basis for an edited book to be published by UCL Press written to address a non-specialist audience and ensure that the results of the network reach a wide audience. A further publication will take the form of a special edition of the journal Art in Print (edited by Susan Tallman) in which network members will discuss selected prints as a means of articulating the invisible as seen from their discipline's perspective.

The PI's exhibition at the Sir John Soane's Museum will provide an initial entry for the public into the project. The annual attendance at the museum is around 100,000 visitors so for the duration of the exhibition an estimated 25,000 will visit. This would include four key groups that will engage with the project including, the museum's general visitors, a fine art audience, attendees for the public programme and online visitors accessing the monthly blog which will open up the research and development to a broad audience. The target audience include those interested in architecture, social history, private collections, contemporary art and museums who are either familiar with the museum or first time as a result of the exhibition, regular contemporary art attendees overseas visitors drawn by the nature of the exhibition and/or Soane's reputation and a global audience for both contemporary art and museums.

Through the public events at the Soane Museum and the participants' existing networks, the project will engage the broad general public who will be encouraged to participate in the blog and the issues raised will inform the research papers and the scope of the conference. The conference will be structured to maximize audience participation with round table discussions framing each session. The benefit to the public, participants and academics will be to provide a range of fora in which ideas across disciplines can be freely exchanged. This will be predicated on a use of language which is accessible to non-specialist audiences.

The network will benefit those who seek references and collaboration beyond their own specialism as well as for those who need to communicate across disciplines and understand problems from a range of perspectives such as that of broadcasters, politicians and policy advisors. It will enable this group to approach problems and issues from a wider perspective and ensure that the language used is appropriate for the audience they wish to address.

In summary, the principle means of seeking impact will be aimed at a broad audience both within and beyond academia. This will achieved be through the exhibition at the Sir John Soane's Museum, the website and blog, the conference and call for papers, the conference publication with UCL Press and through the special edition of Art in Print. In addition it is through the forging of a network centred on the initial participants but outward looking to draw and build upon existing networks that will ensure a rich legacy. In conclusion the network sets out to challenge people to think outside tradition boundaries and place importance of risk taking.

'Imagination is not fragile. It feeds off flaws, difficulties, and problems. Insulating ourselves from failures is to rob one of the most valuable mental faculties of fuel' Matthew SYED