Joanna Griffin
Transtechnology Research,
Room B312 Portland Square,
University of Plymouth,
Drake Circus,Plymouth,
PL4 8AA.
jomagriff@gmail.com
http://aconnectiontoaremoteplace.net/
Joanna is a doctoral candidate with the Transtechnology Research group and is funded by the AHRC.
“Satellite Stories” at Mullard Space Science Lab, UK November 2008
(photo Kristian Buus)
Joanna Griffin is an artist from the UK where she has held teaching posts at the University of Southampton, University of Wolverhampton and also at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Ireland. She has an MA in Fine Art from Edinburgh University and an MA in Hypermedia Studies from the University of Westminster. Her work has been shown internationally in galleries and film festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, but has more recently taken place in public contexts such as radio, participative events, education and project leadership. Her research into the material and immaterial manifestations of satellite networks has been carried out at the University of British Columbia and during an International Arts Council England Fellowship at the Space Science Lab, UC Berkeley.
Recently she has worked with the UK-based art/science agency The Arts Catalyst on an event called “Satellite Stories’ made in collaboration with the Mullard Space Science Lab and a UCL Beacons of Public Engagement project. Other projects have included an award winning ‘Universe Gallery’ made with school children in East London. She is a Visiting Artist at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, India working with the Indian Space Research Organisation on a series of artist projects and experimental education initiatives for children and the public, under the project title ‘Moon Vehicle’.
Moon Vehicle workshop at Aditi International School, Bangalore March 2008.
PhD research:
Changing Space: the social and experiential culture of spacecraft and the public domain.
The thesis will explore narratives of culture around the technology of satellite networks. It will look at the connections people in general have with spacecraft and the specific experiences of those in the field of developing these technologies, such as visits to launch sites and communicating with objects in outer space. These are significant determinants that shape technological form, which have not been adequately investigated or valued in this area. Revealing this seam of determination may influence future development of space technologies.
This is an interdisciplinary study that uses the compelling cultural associations and poetics of orbital space to open the imagination of Science and Engineering. Through practice-based research combining new media art practice, participative events and projects in education, as well as ethnographic research, it will examine the material and immaterial manifestations of satellite technology. In particular it will look at the mental spaces created by a technology that is out of sight – the poetic and imaginative space, the political space and social space of the orbital environment. It will explore what is meant by culture in this context, and ask whether there can be said to be a culture of space. It will also ask who has an impact on the design of this space and who does not? How can, and are, shifts being made that transfer the narratives of this technology into a discursive, conversational, imaginative public domain?
The context of this project is the cultural impact of space science and satellite engineering, already evident from my work with scientists as part of ongoing research, detailed at http://www.aconnectiontoaremoteplace.net. It concerns the human story of the technology, which is largely untapped. My work so far has revealed that this story is valued by scientists and that investigating it can open up new understandings, both within the field and at its public interfaces.
The narrative of the built environment in space and its links to people, relates to the propositions of Frank White (1998), that the perspective altering conditions of space can shift our notions of identity and purpose. I view facilitating this, through the critical application of constructivist theory and art practice, as a significant project for social transformation.
“Satellite Stories” performed at Cube Cinema, Bristol for You and Your Work September 2007