Author: Qasim Majid

Emrecan Tanış is a Turkish choreographer based in Finland and a dancer with the Finnish National Ballet.

One of his latest creations, ‘Rise’ premiered at the Hannover Staatstheater in an evening that comprised the legendary choreographers Hans van Manen and Marco Goecke. In addition, he has created several pieces for the Stuttgart Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, and Finnish National Ballet School.

As a physical artist, Emrecan provides a unique perspective on his participation in Art Meets Science: “As a choreographer, I strive for new challenges. The idea of depicting complex scientific research through the abstract movement of dancers is one that greatly excited me.”. 

Reflecting on his collaboration thus far, Emrecan remarks “it has been great! Our collaboration is unique in that I am working with another artist, Sasha Stepanova who is designing pieces for the dancers in my piece, as well as two scientists from the University of Helsinki’s Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology group – Prof. Timo Laaksonen and Dr Tatu Lajunen”. 

Emrecan continues “our performance will be presented during the opening evening of Art Meets Science so I am very excited to see how a diverse audience interprets the piece and takes away a unique element from the experience. I am also looking forward to meeting the other members of my collaboration in person”.

You can learn more about Emrecan and his work from his website and Instagram.

Aleksandra (Sasha) Stepanova is a designer and professional dancer from Russia.  

With an educational background in biophysics, Sasha states that Art Meets Science played nicely to these two important aspects of her life. For her, “science is art and art is science”.  

Through her participation in Art Meets Science, Sasha hopes that individuals can see the true meaning and importance of both of these fields. Fields that she believes all parts of the world should be investing in.  

Sasha is utilising these two unique skills sets and collaborating with Prof. Timo Laaksonen and Dr Tatu Lajunen from the pharmaceutical nanotechnology group to create costumes inspired by the light-activated drug release research conducted within their group. 

You can learn more about Sasha and her designer label from her website and Instagram. 

Tiina Poutanen is a Tampere-based visual artist and writer.  

Tiina is a fan of science and joined Art Meets Science to see how science and art can interact with one another. Tiina has been collaborating with the Transporter group led by Prof. Heidi Kidron at the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Pharmacy.  

Reflecting on her experience thus far, Tiina recalls her visit to the Kidron lab and seeing how cells are cultured. 

Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Tiina is looking forward to seeing how other artists have combined their unique artistic skillset with the equally unique science undertaken within their respective collaborations.  

You can read more about Tiina on her website and Instagram.  

Eva Adán is a Spanish Fine Artist based in Finland who is passionate about drawing, painting, philosophising, and spending time in nature. 

As a fine artist, Eva utilises a range of traditional techniques including, watercolours, gouache, graphite, and ink to create her pieces. In addition, Eva partakes in illustrations and designs that necessitate digital tools. At present, Eva is developing two parallel projects, ‘Eva Adan Arts’ and ‘Eva Adan designs’ whilst also sharing her years of experience with students as a teacher of drawing and painting.  

Recalling her rationale for joining Art Meets Science, Eva shares: “I have always been passionate about natural sciences, physics, chemistry, and philosophy. My mind is filled with multi-disciplinary curiosity always directed to the investigation of our own nature and consciousness. I graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid with a double specialty (Fine Arts, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage in which I studied some scientific subjects), and also have a Master’s degree in Visual Art Education”.

Eva states that Art Meets Science was the perfect project to join as it coupled her artistic career with her longstanding love for neuroscience. She explains “I have always had a passion for neuroscience and everything to do with the brain and the mind. Therefore, it was an honour to visit the Voutilainen lab and see the neuroscience research they conduct. For years I have practiced meditation according to some Buddhist traditions and also under the guidance of the neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. So, when I was given the choice of working with different research teams, I immediately chose the neuroscience team. During the visit to the laboratory, I was inspired by the research team itself, the instruments and methods they use, the mice, and the diseases they study. Throughout the creative process, my vision deepened, and I wanted to bring to life a piece full of colour, shapes, and light that would serve as a preventive self-therapy, transforming stress and emotions into something beautiful and in turn evoking the mysteries of the universe and human consciousness. 

Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Eva is hoping to “live the experience of participating in a collective exhibition and meeting the other participants in person. I also hope that we are able to engage with the general public and show that the sciences and the arts can and should be united in order to have a full understanding and a holistic vision of what it means to be a human”. 

You can read more about Eva’s other work on her website and Instagram.

Lena Blankenstein-Holmström is a self-taught mixed media and alcohol ink artist living in Turku. 

Having worked on ships for 40 years, Lena is using retirement to explore interesting new opportunities to gain fresh inspiration and perspective for her art. Reflecting on her participation in Art Meets Science, Lena recalls “the project seemed so interesting and was a completely new area for me to explore as I didn’t know much about scientific research before Art Meets Science. The whole project has been really positive, and the highlight was visiting the Voutilainen lab at the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Pharmacy where I was able to talk with scientists from the lab and learn so much about their neuroscience research”.  

Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Lena is excited to meet the other participating members of Art Meets Science in person.  

You can read more about Lena’s other work on her website and Instagram.

Anna Stankevich is a Polish illustrator and visual artist. Having lived in the United Kingdom, Anna moved to Finland where she practices as a self-employed artist.  

Through Art Meets Science, Anna has been collaborating with Manlio Fusciello, a PhD candidate from Prof. Vincenzo Cerullo’s Lab focusing on viral immunotherapies to treat diseases such as cancer.  

Anna shares her thoughts on the collaboration and participation in Art Meets Science thus far: “I was invited to join the project and was excited to do so as this was an interesting opportunity through which I have learnt a lot of fascinating things about viruses and their potential role in the treatment of cancer. It has also been great to work on a collaborative project and to try and incorporate scientific ideas with symbolism in my artwork”.  

Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Anna is curious to see the pieces of art created through the other collaborations and to partake in a group show such as this.  

You can read more about Anna’s other work on her website and Instagram. 

Okko Alitalo is the second of two artists participating in Art Meets Science who is also a research scientist.  

Okko is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Pharmacy where he is conducting research into antidepressant therapies. Alongside his research activities, Okko is a keen artist and shares his reasoning for joining Art Meets Science: “I am interested in science communication, and making science more approachable through art is a great way to achieve this. Science is more than just numbers and statistics; coming up with new ideas and planning experiments requires as much creativity as creating art. Similarly, both science and art require consecutive rounds of iteration and experimentation”.

Through his participation in Art Meets Science, Okko has not only created a piece by which he can share his research, but he has also acquired an array of new techniques and learnt a great deal about himself in the process. Okko goes on to explain “I’ve been working on this project for almost a year now, almost daily since summer 2021, so I’m excited to present this to the public and share with my family and friends why I haven’t had a life in a long time! During that time however, I have learnt a lot about the physical properties of various materials and used a number of fancy tools including the largest laser I could find in Helsinki to engrave the acrylic in my piece. In addition to this, I used a light-absorbing resin from a Japanese optics company that absorbs 99.4% of visible light to paint the black neurons in my piece. More recently, I have milled the frame for the piece from Finnish pine which has been equally cool!”.

Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Okko reflects on his previous exhibition, “Okkoltism & Dark Arts”, a Perttu Häkkinen Foundation-supported tour that was cut short due to the onset of the pandemic. With that in mind, Okko states that he is “looking forward to exhibiting his work again and sharing it with the public.”  

You can read more about Okko’s work on his website and Instagram.  

Lotta Sirén is an economist turned self-taught professional abstract artist from Espoo.  

Lotta paints full-time from her studio in Siuntio and shares her rationale for joining Art Meets Science: “I always like to try new things and this project sounded interesting. I rarely say no to such exciting opportunities. Given I am an economist by background and now work as an artist, I am used to working across faculties”. Due to the ongoing pandemic in addition to maternity leave, Lotta is yet to visit the lab however, she has kept up to speed with her collaboration with Dr Shiqi Wang via Zoom. Thinking ahead to the exhibition, Lotta states “I am looking forward to seeing the results of the other collaborations and the exhibition itself! There will be lots of different forms of art side by side and it’ll be nice to see what kind of inspiration each research project has generated in artists”.   

You can read more about Lotta’s work on her website and Instagram.

Leena Salmio is a liaison manager at the University of Helsinki and an avid artist.  

Having undertaken art from an early age, Leena began her visual studies at the Helsinki Art School for children and youth where she developed a penchant for painting. Subsequent studies in Design (BA) and a Master of Arts and cultural management steered Leena towards other mediums including ceramics which she has utilised for the design of tableware and pieces of art. Through Art Meets Science, Leena looks to return to her childhood passion of painting.  

Leena goes on to explain “I feel that Art Meets Science enables the sharing of researched knowledge through the medium of art. Art brings the diversity and interesting content of science into a new and maybe more understandable form, even for those who are not professionals in the field of science. It also allows the possibility to see the work of a researcher and to increase understanding of the research that is done at the University of Helsinki for the benefit of our society. The challenge of showcasing this research through my art as a visual artist is very exciting”. 

During Art Meets Science, Leena has collaborated with Dr Teemu Tomberg, a postdoctoral researcher working on a qCSI project within the Faculty of Pharmacy. Here she has gained insight into the world of coherent Raman microscope. She mentions that “seeing the collaborations develop between several research groups and artists has been a very educational journey. With Teemu, I have learnt a lot about how in science, much like in the visual arts, light and colour play important roles. For Teemu, choosing the correct laser light settings is imperative to the resultant image acquired by the microscope. Similarly, visual artists must utilise light differently to either emphasise or blur the balance of light and shadow in a painting. With that in mind, it’s nice to think that we both utilise light to create new worlds, one under the microscope, and one on canvas’.  

Thinking ahead to the exhibition itself, Leena expects a number of surprises and is excited to see it in its entirety. She explains “I am excited to see how other researchers and artists have found a common path and how this exhibition, put together by the Faculty of Pharmacy and a multicultural group of artists, will be presented to the general public. I hope as many people as possible will come and see what art and science can bring to our communities’

You can read more about Leena’s work on her website and Instagram.

Polina Ilina is one of two artists participating in Art Meets Science who is also a research scientist.  

Polina was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, where she grew up and obtained a master’s degree in Biology. In 2007, she moved to Finland where she undertook a PhD and has since been conducting research in the field of drug discovery.

Polina mentions that there have been many occasions in her working life where she has found herself sitting in front of the microscope or going through images and being taken aback by the beauty of biological objects, such as cells, intracellular structures, or tissue sections. While attempting to discover new antibacterial compounds, she learned many exciting things about bacteria which she describes as “the tiny creatures, which can be our best friends, as well as our worst enemies. Despite their apparent simplicity, bacteria can move, build communities, and even talk to one another!”. Polina believes Art Meets Science is an excellent opportunity to share her excitement about the microworld with people outside of the research community. She adds, “It is also a rare chance to combine my professional life (scientific research) with my beloved hobby (drawing).” 

Polina is a member of Professor Päivi Tammela’s bioactivity screening group. You can learn more about Polina, and her research from the group’s website, Instagram, and her personal Instagram.