Art – Page 8 – Ian Gibbins

the art & science of embodiment

As Professor of Anatomy for 20 years at Flinders University, Ian was privileged to access, explore and explain the intricacies of the human body. The study of human anatomy has a long and complex social history, some of it confronting, some controversial and some occasionally criminal. Even now, the ways we understand our feelings for our own body and those of others are full of mystery, notwithstanding the astounding advances made by modern neuroscience in this area.

For several years, Ian has been collaborating with artist, Catherine Truman, to document how we appreciate the body and communicate our representations of embodiment to others. Both the not absolute exhibition and The Microscope Project evolved from this collaboration. But Ian and Catherine also worked together on a series of studies, funded by Flinders University (2010) and the Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT Synapse Residency, 2011), exploring the relationships between external and internal representations of anatomical knowledge, the teaching and learning environment, and roles of touch, movement, and the felt experience of the body.

translating the body – the choreography of representation in anatomy teaching, 2010

the filtered body – the uncertainties of embodiment, 2011

Understanding … Click here for more.

Signs of Life: Bowen Street

In 2012, Mike Ladd and Cathy Brooks coordinated a public street art project for Adelaide City Council in which they invited poets to submit concrete poems and epigrams that could be placed on signs in Bowen Street, beside the new bus terminal. Work from 17 poets and artists was selected and the signs were designed by Cathy. I was very pleased to have a piece selected. The slideshow illustrates some examples of the signs. Unfortunately, the installation was dismantled, but it may re-appear at some stage…

Poets and artists on the project were: Jude Aquilina, Cathy Brooks, Jelena Dinic, Ian Gibbins, Kevin Gillam, Simon J Hanson, Fiona Johnson, Jules Lee Koch, Jack Ladd, Mike Ladd, Stephen Lawrence, Rachael Mead, John Pfitzner, Thom Sullivan, Heather Taylor-Johnson, Amelia Walker and Cecilia White.

Slideshow images by Ian Gibbins.

The Library Project

In March 2014, Ian was the inaugural Poet-in-Residence at the Adelaide City Library, supported by the Library and Spoken Word SA.

During his time there, he developed a sequence of poems, images and sounds based on material in the Library, called How To Read. Much of the written work used samples of text such as library brochures, titles of books in particular sections of the library, overheard snippets of conversation, and answers to a questionnaire.

Click here for the text of “How To Read”.

New versions Ian’s poems for the project have been published: 994.231 (General History / Australia / Adelaide) in Rabbit #16: Biography Part 2 (2015), True Crime in Australian Poetry Members’ Anthology 4 (2015) and The Guide in e•ratio 25 (2018).

Here is an excerpt from 994.231 (General History / Australia / Adelaide):

(Clara)
When a friend fell off her bicycle on the foreshore at Glenelg,
everyone thought it would be the end of her. “Watch out for sharks!”
we advised, just in case she listened. “They love the smell of blood!”
Seagulls swooped for pie crusts, chip-squash, gravel-grazed gumdrops,
casual sandwich orphans, ignored furtive intercepting flight paths,
veered north or … Click here for more.

public lectures on art & science

Keynote: ‘Uncountable Cultures: Science, Art and the Limits of Knowing’ Australian Consortium of Humanities Research Centres Annual Conference, December 2021.

The Poetry of Science. Panel and performance. Quantum Words. Writing NSW, Callan Park, Sydney, November, 2018.

Narratives of Brain and Body. Workshop and performance. Vital Signs: The Healing Power of Story, Queensland Poetry Festival, Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, August, 2018.

Remember the Future: The Simulating Brain. Lecture and discussion panel. SimTecT Conference, Adelaide, August, 2015.

The Microscope Project: Sensing the Unseen. Lecture with poetry. With Catherine Truman. Ausglass National Conference, Adelaide, February, 2015.

Reimagining Art-Science Collaborations. Lecture with video and poetry. Driving Forces Symposium, ANU School of Art, February, 2014.

Stilled Life: Seeing Faces and the Problem of Portraiture. Presentation at Portrayal and Identity Symposium, ANU School of Art and National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, March, 2013.

Science as Culture. Discussion panel and poetry performance, Kumuwiki, Regional Arts Australia National Conference, Goolwa, October 2012.

A Feeling for the Image: Hands, Body and Visualisation of the Invisible. Seminar / poetry performance at Spectra Symposium, The Science and Art of Imaging, Canberra, October, 2012.

Rough Draft. Poetry performance … Click here for more.

collaborations

Cuando Fui Clandestino / When I Was Clandestine (2023, video, dur 4:47). Poetry video with Juan Garrido Salgado (poem, spoken word, performance) and Lenin Garrido (music).

Topography of an Imaginary Ocean. (2023, video, dur: 2:41). Poetry, music and sound design for experimental video by David King.
• offical selection, Pebbles Underground Film and Video Art 6th On-line Program (Canada, November, 2023);
• official selection, 12th Athens International Digital Film Festival (Athens, Greece, December, 2023).

The Taken Path: a durational project with Catherine Truman. Video sequences, text and images recorded at Carrick Hill estate, Adelaide, through 2022-2023, as part of A Partnership for Uncertain Times, Newmarch Gallery, South Australia, 16 June to 15 July, 2023.

UGLY – A NOT Fairytale. Mixed media stage performance directed by Georgina Hahn, featuring Kaelia Cockington, Michael Jaxon Carson, Keshia Vitor, Lilian Lava, Karney Doll and Vee Von Claire, written by Andrew Dudek, Georgina Hahn, Michael Jaxon Carson and Michele Saint-Yves, choreographed by Michael Jaxon Carson and Anania Tikolamadra, costumes by Summer Sumner, cinematography and original music, Ian Gibbins (Mercury Cinema, Adelaide Fringe Festival, February-March 2022).

Not A Day Without A Line: 1000 Drawings | 1000 Days. Video … Click here for more.

featured poetry performances

Ambient Loopscape. Poetry / improvised music / real-time video generation with Jutta Pryor, Masonik (Baziz Psanoudakis and Mark Martin), and Eiichi Tosaki, The Loop Project Space & Bar (Melbourne CBD, July, 2019).

Ambient Brainstorm. Poetry / improvised music / real-time video generation with Jutta Pryor, Masonik (Baziz Psanoudakis and Mark Martin), and Eiichi Tosaki (Bundoora, July, 2019).

Paroxysm Press – The Showcase Series. Video poem and live performance. Adelaide Fringe Festival, Broadcast Bar, Adelaide, February, 2019.

Surf’s Up! ART meets SURF at Christies! Poetry feature with musicians Nick West and Khristian Mizzi. Arty Records HQ, Christies Beach, SA, February, 2019.

Back at the Red Rhino Room. Poetry feature with musicians Fergus Maximus and Khristian Mizzi. Red Rhino Room, Hilton, SA, February, 2019.

The Poetry of Science. Panel and performance. Quantum Words. Writing NSW, Callan Park, Sydney, November, 2018.

Southern-Land Poets Chapbook Series 6 Launch. Poetry. Garron Publishing, Halifax Cafe, Adelaide, October, 2018.

The Hearth: “The Sea”. Poetry and panel. The Jade, Adelaide, June, 2018.… Click here for more.