Drawing Scientist
As a scientist who traded the pipette for a pencil, it is imperative to think about what drawing means to scientists, to the process of science, and scientific discovery. The realization is that drawing can be both, a means to do science and a means to share science. Also see, Drawing Science.
TEDx Talk
In this talk, through historical examples and my work, I argue how and why a pencil can be a powerful medium in all stages of scientific thought. The talk borrows from the four steps of thinking postulated by Graham Wallas in his work ‘Art of Thought’ (1926) and draws parallels to the scientific thought process.
Drawing scientist
Workshops
I encourage scientists to draw and when given the opportunity I make them draw, both silly and science. It has been argued that drawing can augment creative thinking for scientists.
At the Young Investigators Meeting 2023 organized by IndiaBioscience, I had the opportunity to make scientists draw. The scientists drew their science and shared it with the neighbors at the table, in a way that led to laughter and discussions. The process of making images and sharing images can be distinguished, similar to the distinction between the process of discovery and the process of sharing discovery.
In one activity, they drew words/phrases they/we collectively made up or they were very familiar within their subject domain. This exercise allows for discussion on the separation between words and imaginations for individuals and on symbolism in scientific representations.
In a novel workshop at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, ‘How to be a Scientist’ we used drawing as a way of doing science. We used the act of drawing to observe, measure, understand the knowns, and ask the unknowns. In one of the activities, I encouraged the participants to image the 3D volumetric form based on microscopic observation of tissue cross-sections.
In a course called Art of Seeing and Observing at Saint Joseph’s College, Bangalore, we used drawing to understand the spatiotemporal nature of biological processes. Using GIFs, we understood how to think about and represent the pace of time in fast and slow biological processes.
In a workshop at Curiosity Conference at IIT Gandhinagar, 2023, I explored drawing as a way to foster imagination, ideation and storytelling. We used different sensorial impressions to craft images, stories, sounds and more.
Zines
This series of zines is based on the ideas and sketches developed from various drawing projects and workshops with scientists and science students.
Testimonials
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