May 2022
’eX de Medici: Double Double Crossed'
Sullivan+Strumpf, Sydney

Since its emergence in the late 1990s, the concept of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has held particular sway in contemporary pedagogy, and initiatives to address the so-called ‘STEM Crisis’ have greatly influenced political and educational agendas globally. While the comparatively late arrival of the ‘A’, for Art, in what is now STEAM, brought the important role of creativity to the table in a welcome acknowledgement that STEM was not enough, the concern remains that the ‘A’ is an add-on, enhancing the way in which STEM is taught, but not valued for the significance of its contribution alone. Accordingly, within the realm of Art+Science collaborations, and in exhibiting contexts, this often results in the instrumentalisation of art for the science and work that is sadly, not great art. Yet the division between the arts and science is a relatively recent phenomenon and the history of both disciplines is replete with individuals who consciously played, tinkered, experimented, created and worked across the two, with someone like Leonardo da Vinci becoming something of a poster boy for the possibilities of art and science coming together in harmony. Read