Murmuration: As Part of Beakerhead

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Roxane Fallah, "Sound Sculpture," 2016

Roxane Fallah, "Sound Sculpture," 2016, various media, installation view

Fireflies, chameleons, and starlings are the inspiration for this exhibition. Works by Bon Adriel Aseniero and Sheelagh Carpendale (computer scientist), Roxane Fallah and Mahdiar Ghaffarianhoseini (architects) explore data and bio-inspiration in sculptural and digital form."

The exploration into bio-inspired design or ‘nature’s networks’ for data visualization is a recent one.  Large amounts of data in some cases are not just like living systems: they are living systems.  In What Technology Wants Kevin Kelly describes the move from a “clockwork logic to a complex ‘bio-logic’ that is capable of developing thinking, living systems that our complex world demands.” We examined how bioinspired design/bionics/biomimicry can be used to expand the way we think about visualizations: Does it merely apply to visual representations? Can it expand the way we think about interactions? Are there generalizations and guidelines that can be created or is useful advice obtainable from this explorations?

Curator, Marjan Eggermont is the Associate Dean (Student Affairs) and a senior instructor in The Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, teaching in the area of engineering design and communication. She is also an artist who exhibits nationally and internationally. Marjan teaches graphics, communication, technology and design history, biomimicry, and information visualization. She is currently finishing her PhD in Computational Media Design.

She co-founded and designs bio-inspired design journal Zygote Quarterly (zqjournal.org). ZQ was a finalist in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 for a Digital Magazine Award in the Science and Technology category. Marjan joined the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) in 2004 and is currently on the ASEE Board. She was also named one of Calgary’s 20 Most Influential Artists by the Calgary Artwalk Society in 2000.