From Spacemen to Undersea Adventures: John Zarnecki and Simon Patterson in conversation with Lisa Le Feuvre September 15, 2008

John and Simon discuss art, science, space and exploration with the Museum's Curator of Contemporary Art, Lisa Le Feuvre, exploring systems of understanding and misunderstanding.

Contemporary artist Simon Patterson's current exhibition at the Museum, The Undersea World and Other Stories is an anthology of the artist's work over the last decade. Patterson subverts the systems and assumptions we live by, often exploring the way in which language is used to make sense of our place in the world. His most famous work, The Great Bear sees him replacing the names of tube stations with planets, explorers and film stars and his newly commissioned artwork for the Museum folds the figure of the oceanaut Jacques Cousteau into Greek mythology and charts of the Mediterranean.

John Zarnecki is Professor of Space Science at the Open University. He has over 30 years experience of space research spanning a number of space missions, including sounding rockets, Earth-orbiting and interplanetary flights. He is Director of the Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR).

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