about the artist
Isabelle Desjeux is an artist based in Singapore. She has a background in molecular biology (PhD, Edinburgh University UK, 1995) and a Masters in Arts (Fine Arts) from Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore ( Dec.2010).
Isabelle’s research is based on the “refuse”, the “leftovers”, the “failures” and their function in the process of scientific research, and a strong belief in the power of transformation over creation. Drawing from the similarities of practice of both worlds, Isabelle’s art feels like science. Her art takes the form of videos, installations and lectures using elaborate techniques of ‘Pataphysics.
Her most recent work include understanding “How we acquire knowledge” about the world around us. This has quite naturally led to co-creative and interactive projects with various communities exploring the natural world around them. Projects around weeds, insects or traditional local crops have provided an entry into how lay-people ask scientific questions. She is using art to facilitate conversations around what we understand science to be.
What kind of scientific research does an artist pursue?How do we run experiments?
What do we do with the rejections, leftovers and failures accumulated on the way?
What does the process of scientific research look like? What does the scientific method consist of? Do artists use the scientific method in the lab? Do curious children use the scientific method to understand the world around them?
How do we know what we know?
Questioning the scientific method and the objectivity of science, I visit labs to find out how exactly science is being made. Like painters describe how they sees the world using paint, I describe what I see and feel using a variety of media, preferring the public to understand the world of science by becoming the scientist themselves. My favoured media are the ones scientists use themselves to communicate their findings: posters, papers, books and lectures….
The resulting work creates an alternative scientific world, making the viewer question how science is being made and how or why we believe what we believe, and how much “science” and “rational thinking” is meant to be part of our daily decision-making, whether we like it or not.
Download recent Portfolio:Contact me:
Isabelle Desjeux 
Isabelle, nice to get to know you better through your website 😉