I was born near Bradford, Northern England back in the early sixties and having completed school went on to gain a PhD in condensed matter physics at The University of St Andrews. My art is largely informed by this mixture of growing up in a hard post industrial landscape and my later scientific studies. As a result, much of my work is conceptually based on science coupled with heavy industry.

However, at an artistic level what fascinates me about science is not so much the technology itself but the philosophical basis for scientific thought. Scientific reasoning is fundamentally different to the subjective, emotional and intuitive thinking that is inherent to us all as human beings. By divorcing itself from such factors, science has evolved into a powerful tool for understanding and engineering the universe. However such objectivity often leaves science isolated from the most meaningful of our experiences as human beings, which are by their very nature, emotional and subjective. This is where I believe art has a vital role to play, reflecting scientific issues through the distorted lens of an artist's own humanity. Much of my work explores science and technology at the boundary between fact and perception with special reference to the many different views that often exist.

Increasingly I believe that there are no simple answers and few, if any, absolute truths. Perception is reality and as Shakespeare's Hamlet says, "Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so." In keeping with this, I try to avoid making direct judgemental statements in my work. Instead, I aim to encapsulate the complex and often subconscious mixture of hopes and fears surrounding a given issue.

Many of the visual elements drawn into this mixture are objects associated with science and engineering. From an aesthetic standpoint, I find myself drawn to historical instruments and machines more than their modern counterparts. This is because a lot of energy was expended on their appearance reflecting the passion and reverence their builders had for them. It is as though these objects were more than merely functional, they were iconic manifestations of ideas and concepts. Similarly, within my own work I aim to express the passion and fascination I have with the workings of the universe and the mental and physical tools we use to study them.

I usually begin a new work when the various images in my mind coalesce into a form that I find intriguing. Then I like to explore the emerging concept in sketches and small 3D studies. During this process, the work begins to evolve and take on its own inherent sense of aesthetics. I find this method of working avoids the common trap of scientifically based art becoming illustrative.

Other writings and rantings:

Art/sci - A grumpy old man's perspective on the art meets science phenomena
published on the Arts Hub site

WHEN ART MEETS SCIENCE, a public lecture by Tim at the National Museum of Australia
(podcast downloadable from this site too)