Dr. Libby Heaney, an award-winning visual artist and quantum physicist, is presenting a solo exhibition called “Ooze Machines.” The exhibition explores the fluid, non-binary nature of the quantum world through various mediums, including video, glass, and 2D works. Heaney, known for being the first artist to use quantum computing as an artistic medium, challenges binary categories and promotes interconnectedness. Her work combines performance, moving images, and cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and quantum computing. The exhibition is co-presented with Brighton Festival and will run from May 4 to June 30, 2024.
Dr. Libby Heaney: Bridging Quantum Physics and Art
Dr. Libby Heaney, an award-winning visual artist and quantum physicist, is known for her unique approach to art, which combines her scientific background with her artistic vision. Her solo exhibition, “Ooze Machines,” is a testament to her innovative approach, featuring an immersive multi-channel video, new glass and 2D works, and a playable experience. The exhibition is co-presented with Brighton Festival and is part of their 2024 program.
Heaney’s work is characterized by her use of slime as a recurring motif, which she sees as a representation of the microscopic quantum world. Contrary to the common perception of the quantum world as precise and point-like, Heaney views it as fluid and slime-like. This perspective extends to the innate sliminess of our bodies, other life forms, and machines. Heaney also playfully addresses the so-called slimy nature of big tech.
Quantum Technologies and Non-Binary Futures
“Ooze Machines” offers a glimpse into the non-binary, entangled futures that quantum technologies will bring. Quantum devices like quantum computers function entirely differently than current binary technologies. These devices will enable us to see intricate connections and entanglements between matter, energy, space, and time when fully developed.
Heaney’s work explores inherently queer, non-local, and hybrid concepts from quantum science to disrupt binary categories and hierarchies and foster radical interconnectedness. Her works combine diverse mediums such as performance, moving image, glass, and watercolour with cutting-edge technologies including machine learning, game engines, and quantum computing. This combination entangles interior landscapes with the impact of the exterior realm.
Heaney’s Background and Achievements
Dr. Libby Heaney is not only an accomplished artist but also a respected scientist. She has a PhD and professional research background in Quantum Information Science and is recognized as the first artist to work with quantum computing as a functioning artistic medium.
Heaney has worked at the University of Oxford and National University of Singapore, publishing 20 physics papers in top peer-reviewed journals. She was the recipient of the HSBC and Institute of Physics, Very Early Career Woman in Physics award. In 2015, Heaney graduated from Central St. Martins, London with a focus on AI and kinetic sculpture.
Heaney’s Impact on the Art World
Since graduating, Heaney has exhibited at major institutions and museums in the UK and internationally. Her significant solo exhibitions and performances include Quantum Soup, HEK, Basel; Heartbreak and Magic, Somerset House, London; The Evolution of Ent-: QX, arebyte Gallery, London; The Whole Earth Chanting, Sonar Festival, Barcelona; CASCADE, Southbank Centre, London and Ent-, LAS Art Foundation, Berlin. From 2017 to 2024, she was a resident of Somerset House Studios in London and in 2022, Heaney won the Lumen Prize and Falling Walls Art & Science award.
Heaney’s works continuously seek to expand the possibilities of the individual and the collective through the magic of quantum, transcending capitalist uses of technology. Through the ambivalent mechanisms and logic of quantum, Heaney creates new non-linear modes of affective storytelling, blurring fact and fiction and embracing both narrative and intuitive visceral embodied experiences.
“Ooze Machines” Exhibition and Programme
The “Ooze Machines” exhibition is open from 4 May to 30 June 2024. The exhibition includes a family workshop, where participants can take part in large scale collaborative paintings and manipulate slime-like materials in a tactile and sensory experience.
In addition, a conversation between Dr. Libby Heaney and Joseph Constable, Head of Exhibitions at De La Warr Pavilion, is scheduled for 4 June. The conversation, titled “Quantum & Queerness,” is free and open to the public, but booking is required.
The “Ooze Machines” exhibition is a unique opportunity to experience the intersection of art and quantum physics. It offers a glimpse into the future of quantum technologies and their potential impact on our understanding of the world.
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