Cellular Memory: Elizabeth Thomson

Available Monday June 13 – Friday August 19. For over 30 years, Wellington-based sculptor/installation artist Elizabeth Thomson has been drawn to areas of scientific knowledge such as botany, microbiology, oceanography and mathematics. In Thomson’s art we recognise not only the beginnings of life in microscopic, cellular structures but also the pulse of energy through water, the patterning of wind on sand and the cycles of growth and decay that characterise all life on our planet. In these meditative, beguiling, vital works, we begin to sense the curious intelligence and sensibility of our world — the many-layered environment of which we are a part. Thomson’s works incorporate photographic source materials as well as techniques drawn from the fields of painting, sculpture, craft traditions and practical science.

Students will view and discuss the exhibition, explore the concept of how technology helps us to see tiny details. We will then go on to explore one of Elizabeth’s works and recreate this through collage, rubbings and layering textures.

Primary, Intermediate and Secondary
Year 0 - 13

Cost: FREE
Duration: 75 - 90 minutes
Group Size: Max 30. One class in the gallery at a time. (Please get in touch if you will be travelling in with two or more classes so that we can suggest some alternative programs for your second group and coordinate a time to swap over).

Key themes: The natural world, links between drawing and science, observational drawing, microscopic and macroscopic worlds, drawing technique, using tools of magnification for information.

Subject areas: Visual Art, Science and Technology