Tullamore artist collaborates with UCD to produce reimagining of Da Vinci painting
Tullamore artist Vincent Devine recently collaborated with cancer researchers at The Conway Institute in University College Dublin (UCD) to produce a painting to represent the amazing work done at the Institute.
Speaking about the collaboration, Vincent said: "This project is a collaboration between myself and the researchers at the Conway Institute in UCD and it is a modern day reimagining of Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man as a way to show the cancer research that's done at the Institute."
"The message we're trying to get through with this painting and other paintings is essentially awareness through art where sometimes language on its own doesn't carry the message. A visual language is now a way to get across the subject matter in different areas of research."
Last year Vincent was invited by Professor Liam Gallagher of The Conway Institute to work with the cancer researchers there. ‘The Vitruvian’ is a bespoke piece of artwork painted by Vincent, which explores the labyrinth world of cancer research through visual media. 'The Vitruvian: Uncovering the Layers of Cancer' was showcased at UCD Festival on Saturday, June 10 which presents the very best of UCD through performances, engaging talks, hands-on science and interactive exhibits.
Elaborating on how he approached the project, Vincent stated: "The first thing you do is you take the in-depth research so I get the analysis of the research of the topic that I'm depicting and then I use things like either animals or the human form or inside the human body or the micro environment or the landscapes to kind of represent the research in different areas."
The local artist concluded: "There seems to be a huge avenue for a visual language which shows the work done in different areas of scientific research and I suppose I hadn't realised that most of the research is based on visual perception so it's the perfect marriage where you bring in fine art and science to create this awareness around different topics."
Fifteen researchers and a patient advocate were involved with the project.