| Artist In Residence |
The National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), is a center for research and teaching in frontier areas of biology in India. Situated in Bangalore, research at NCBS covers a diverse set of subjects in areas of modern biology ranging in scope from atomic to population level studies.
The campus encourages scientific and cultural interactions by hosting events such as lectures, workshops and exhibitions periodically, thus enhancing the exchange of ideas and knowledge between scholars involved with the programme and the community at large. The NCBS Artist in Residency Program is an extension of this effort. The campus is situated in a lush environment which provides steady support for its residents.
2014-15 Artist in Residence
 |
Stefanie Reichelt is a Cambridge-based researcher and photographer. She studied Biology at Bonn University and has worked as a scientist in France, the USA (Berkeley) and the UK (London and Cambridge). Stefanie’s visit to NCBS cosponsored by the bangaloREsidency programme a long-term collaboration between the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore. |
2017-18 Artist in Residence
 |
Dhara Mehrotra is a visual artist based out of Bangalore and Delhi. Her work draws inspiration from diverse aspects of landscape and its ecology—such as pollen, dandelions, grass, moss, and flower petals—with an emphasis on clusters and space to evoke a sense of fluidity and boundlessness. Having completed an MFA in Painting from the College of Art, Delhi University in year 2005, she has exhibited in art galleries across New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Dubai (The Gulf Art Fair), Belgium (Museum of Sacred Arts – MOSA), Madrid, Shanghai (The China Art Museum) and Savannah – GA (Savannah College of Art and Design). She is the recipient of the Swapan Biswas Award for academic excellence and the Junior Fellowship Award from Ministry of Culture (GoI) 2007. Dhara was the Head of Department, Visual Art at SHIS Gurgaon (India) from July 2009 till April 2015. She has also participated in workshops and art camps by the French Consulate, New Delhi, the Visual Arts Gallery (India Habitat Centre), and the Ahalia Art Heritage, Ahalia University, Kerala. Her paintings and installations are part of art collections in India and other countries. Her current project, ‘Through Clusters and Networks’, is the product of the Artist-in-Residence outreach program at NCBS-TIFR, and offers a closer look at how fungi and plants communicate with each other via a “Wood Wide Web”. The project is an attempt to complement the artistic intuition with the logic and rigors of scientific method. It delves into the form and structural topology of fungal networks (mycelia), that spread several miles underground, connecting the roots of trees, plants and all vegetation, cycling life energy through them. During her residency, Dhara has collaborated with various laboratories and scientists — namely Deepa Agashe, Shannon Olsson, Sunil Laxman, Dasaradhi Palakodeti, Shashi Thutupalli, Aswin Seshasayee, Anjana Badrinarayan, and Radhika Venkatesan — to explore and observe the idea of self-organization in science and nature. You can explore more of her work at http://www.dharamehrotra.com/ The exhibition, ‘Through Clusters and Networks’, was hosted at the Science Gallery at NCBS in Bangalore, India from November 16th, 2018 - February 15th, 2019. Access an e-catalogue of her work: http://www.dharamehrotra.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/catalog/index.html |