Finding Patterns

ABOUT Me

My work is about finding resonant ways to express hidden aspects of Nature and the journey of discovery. This research has taken me to the heart of the atom, the beginnings of the universe and the essence of light. I have bachelor’s degrees in Physics and Painting and in 2011 received a Leverhulme Trust Artist in Residence Award for a residency at the Physics Department of Imperial College London. I am happy to be working with scientists at various places including: Imperial College London, Oxford, Durham, University College London, Cambridge and the University of Illinois. In 2020 I received the American Institute of Physics Gemant Award, given annually to recognise individuals who have made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic or humanistic dimension of physics. 

Though I arrived as a painter, I have explored various media to share perspectives on the experience of discovery and some of the beautiful things we know through art including natural dyes and printed fabrics, books, film, text, podcasts, talks and large installations such as advertising billboards and a sunshine powered cinema.

Together with artist, designer, dance artist and scientist colleagues I also create workshops for children and grown-ups that combine discussion, experimentation, art, poetry and dance to resonantly explore and celebrate our knowledge and place in the universe. For example: The World of Atoms; Our Sun; and The Magic of Magnets. My current projects focus on sustaining a good life on Earth, and the idea of Emergence.

Geraldine Cox, February 2024.

geraldine.cox@imperial.ac.uk

Relevant Information

Awards, Selections and Competitions

• Imperial College London Faculty of Natural Sciences Prize for Excellence in Outreach, Public and Community Engagement in the Group category 2022. For the ‘Elemental dances’ project.

• American Institute of Physics Gemant Award Winner 2020. For "articulating deep physics concepts through visual arts and other media, reaching a remarkable range of people in innovative ways and sharing her passion for the expression of physical truths”. 

• Arthur C.Clarke Award Winner 2020, Space Achievement – Education and Outreach Team. With Dr Helen Mason and the Sun, Space, Art Team. “Their 4-year project and STEAM website, launched in lock-down, have reached 20,000 children, encouraging them to engage in and explore space science.”.

• Imperial College London Rapid Response Seed Fund 2020 - for societal engagement during pandemic.

• 4th Contemporary Science Film Festival, Moscow, 2014.

• Imagine Science Film Festival, New York, 2013.

• EPSRC funded project award from Imperial College London, 2012.

• Leverhulme Trust, Artist in Residence Award at Imperial College, 2011.

• Arts Council Award, 2010.

• Fringe MK Painting Prize 2009, exhibited finalist. Selected by Turner Prize judge, Michael Stanley.

• Arts Council Award, 2008.

• City and Guilds of London Art History Prize, 2004.

• Roger de Grey Prize for Drawing, City and Guilds of London Art School, 2003.

Projects with Schools, Families and Young People

• Rochdale Science Initiative

  • “Our Climate Our Collective Future” with Rochdale Science Initiative and the British Science Association. September - December 2023.

• Imperial College Outreach

  • ‘Magnetic Art’, Imperial College London, two family workshops in White City, 31st May, 2022. With Dr’s Izzie Rabey and Rhys Jenkins.

  • ‘Draw the Sun’ workshops, Exhibition Road Festival at the Science Museum, London, October 9th and 10th, 2021.

  • ‘Draw the Sun’, A creative workshop with Dr Katy Barrett, Curator of Art Collections at the Science Museum, and solar scientist, Dr Ravi Desai. The Exhibition Road Festival, 28th April 2021.

  • “Atoms and Art”, family workshops at The Invention Rooms, Imperial College, White City, London. 29th October 2020.

  • ‘Our World of Atoms’ - An introduction to the Periodic Table of Elements for families and children ages 7-11”. Three two hour workshops. The Invention Rooms, Imperial College, February 2019.

• Magnets Workshop

  • Launch of prototype workshop with Chris Hatton School 28th March 2022.

  • ‘Magnets’, De Beauvoir School, Hackney, with Dr Stephanie Yardley, 23rd May 2022.

• ‘Drawing the Sun’ online sessions for schools with Dr Stephanie Yardley of Mullard Space Laboratory and Dr Ravi Desai of Imperial College. Supported by Dr Helen Mason and the Sun, Space, Art project.

  • ‘Our Sun’, Gainsborough School, Hackney, with Dr Ravi Desai. 17th May, 2022. Two workshops.

  • ‘Our Sun’, Morningside School, Hackney, with Dr Ravi Desai. 18th May. 2022.

  • ‘Drawing the Sun’ with Rochdale Science Initiative, July 1st and 22nd, 2021.

  • ‘Drawing the Sun’ with Hawley School, Camden, June 24th, July 1st, 2021.

  • ‘Drawing the Sun’, Gurnard Primary School, 12th March 2021.

  • “Drawing the Sun”, St Martin of Porres, Year 6. January 2021.

  • “Drawing the Sun” with St Joseph’s School. November 2020.

  • “Drawing the Sun”, St Martin of Porres School, Year 5, November 2020.

  • “Drawing the Sun”, Westminster City Lions Youth Club. October 27th 2020.

• ‘Atom Workshop’ with QSUM:

  • Atom Workshop, Oxclose School Yr 6, County Durham. 6th July 2022.

  • “Atom Workshops” with Westminster City School. Various dates in November 2020.

  • “Atom Workshops” online with Westminster City Lions youth Club. Various dates in November 2020.

  • Bevington School, Ladbroke Grove, February 2020.

  • Hartside School, County Durham, June 2019.

  • St Michael’s School. Highgate, March 2019.

  • Hollickwood Junior School, Muswell Hill, December 2018.

  • St James Primary School, Kensington, June 2018.

• ‘Sun, Space, Art’ with Dr Helen Mason of Cambridge University and colleagues:

  • ‘The Sun’, with Dr Helen Mason of Cambridge University. Alice Ingham School. Rochdale, 22nd June 2023.

  • Sun Space Art Online Festival, February 15th 2021.

  • Canonbury School, November 2018.

  • Neville Blanche Deaf School, October 2018.

  • Cambridge Home Schooling Group, July 2018.

  • Wyton on the Hill School, March 2018.

  • Connaught House School, London, February 2018.

  • Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. October 2017.

  • Northbury School, Barking, Essex. March 2017.

  • Kingsley School, Cheshire. February 2017.

  • Ambrose Barlow School, Salford. With “Venture Thinking”. March 2014.

• ‘Where does colour come from'?’, an experimental workshop exploring resonance in atoms and molecules for the Natural Dye team at Ceres. 4th May 2022.

• The Sun and Us’ workshop with Dr Harry Cliff at Tate Modern, London, October 28th and 29th 2021.

• Physics and Dance with Lady Eleanor Holles School Yr 8 students, with Dr Kyle Major, and dance artist Yanaëlle Thiran. 28th June 2022.

• Lady Eleanor Holles School, Panel Q&A Event, 10th March 2021.

• Alexander Calder Mobile Making Workshops 1 & 2’, Compass Community Collaborative School, Colorado, February 2021.

• Universe Day', with Dagny Youssuf Kimberly and Prof Jonathan Halliwell of Imperial College London. St James School, Kensington. April 2015.

• 'Physics Meets Fashion', national fashion design competition. Fashion Access Direct. November 2014.

Talks, Broadcasts and Public Workshops

• “Spaceship Earth Festival 2050” - a brief vision, UK Science Festivals Network Conference, Birmingham, January 30th, 2024.

• National Astronomy Meeting 2023, Cardiff, July 6th, lunchtime panel discussion and invited speaker.

• ‘Drawing and dancing your research; how to use creative art forms to engage the public and develop understanding’ with Emma Bellerby, for students and staff of London School of Economics, 1-3pm, 16th June, 2023.

• ‘Atom>Light>Dance’ for everyone, Imperial Festival, 17-18th June 2023.

• Atomic Dance Party’ four workshops for local families with Imperial College London, dance artist Emma Bellerby, and physicists Stefan Popa and Rhys Jenkins, White City, 29 - 30th May 2023.

• ‘An Artistic Adventure Through Science’, Pint of Science, Imperial College London, 22nd May 2023.

• ‘Rochdale Science Extravaganza - Climate Change and Sustainability’ with Rochdale Science Initiative. March 19th 2023.

• ‘Climate Change in Conversation with Prof Joanna Haigh’, Rochdale Science Initiative, 22nd January 2023.

• ‘Atom>Light>Dance’ participatory dance event exploring atomic spectra with dance artists Emma Bellerby, Yanaëlle Thiran and physicists from The Centre for Cold Matter. November 17th, 6-9pm, 2022. With Imperial Lates.

• ‘The Gifts’ seminar, Communicators and Outreach Conference, London. November 17th 2022.

• ‘The Gifts’ seminar, Durham University, 2nd November 2022.

• ‘The Gifts’ presentation and discussion, DesOEQ/QSUM22 Conference, Strathclyde University, 11 – 14 July 2022.

• Fermilab Lecture Series Talk, 26th September, 2021.

• “Our Universe”, ‘2021 Goswell Lecture’, Lady Eleanor Holles School, London. February 25th 2021.

• “Our Universe”, Crick-Imperial Postgraduate Symposium. Plenary Lecture. February 25th 2021.

• ‘For Everyone’, The American Association of Physics Teachers Winter Meeting Plenary Lecture. January 9-12 2021.

• Giant Pendulum Experiment, Imperial College London Late, March 2020.

• Temperature Spectra Art Workshop, Imperial College Late. December 5th 2019.

• Finding Patterns Talk, DesOEQ-QSUM Annual Workshop, Keble College, Oxford, September 18th 2019.

• Seminar for New York City School of Visual Arts, Imperial College London, May 2019.

• The Alexander Calder Sculpture Workshop for Atomic Physicists, Imperial College, December 2018.

• Vienna Complexity Centre, The Ginkgo Meeting, September 2018.

• Soho Radio, 27th November, 2017.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics, December, 2017.

• Durham University, QSUM Project, September, 2017.

• 'This Tremendous World of Interconnecting Hierarchies', CDT Festival, Imperial College London, April 2017.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics, December, 2016.

• 'This Tremendous World of Interconnecting Hierarchies', part of 'Monopoles' Exhibition, curated by Emma Stirling, Yates Norton and Oli Gould, October 2016.

• Imperial College London, Complexity Centre, October, 2016.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics, November, 2015.

• Cambridge Festival of Ideas. Presentations of perspectives and ideas with researchers at Cambridge Nanotechnology Centre. Introduced by Prof Jeremy Baumberg and Thereza Wells of Artakt. October, 2015.

• TEDx Marrakesh, February, 2015.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics, February, 2015.

• Southwark Cathedral, London, March 2014: Pre-concert discussion on the relationship between science, religion and art with Father Christopher Jamison, Iain McGilchrist & Peter Fudakowski.

• Portsmouth University, Contemporary Fine Art, February, 2014.

• Kingston University, Graphic Design, February, 2014.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics, December, 2013.

• The Centre for Neuro Imaging Sciences, Kings College, London. September, 2013.

• Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, July, 2013.

• Imperial College London, Department of Physics. May, 2013.

• The Institute of Physics Higher Education Group. October, 2012.

Selected Shows

• 'Action at a Distance', curated by Shan McAnena. The Naughton Gallery, Queens University, Belfast, 2014.

• 'Imagining Science', 4th Contemporary Science Film Festival, curated by Natalia Fuchs, The Polytechnic Museum, Moscow, 2014.

• 'Poems about Light', The Blyth Gallery, Imperial College London, 2014.

• 'FilmLab', Made in New York Media Centre, Brooklyn, New York; Imagine Science Film Festival, 2013.

• 'The Poetics of Science', Rockefeller University, New York; Imagine Science Film Festival, 2013.

• 'Sun Cinema', Imperial Festival, South Kensington, London, 2013.

• 'MadeCurious', two giant billboards on the streets of London. With Imperial College and Hi-Rezz, 2012.

• 'Beyond Ourselves', The Royal Society, London. With: Agata Agatowska, Chris Dunseath, Sam Knowles, David Rickard and Chooc Ly Tan, 2011.

• 'Beyond Ourselves', Lace Market Gallery, Nottingham, The British Art Show Fringe. With Agata Agatowska, Chris Dunseath, Sam Knowles and Chooc Ly Tan, 2010.

• 'MK Fringe National Painting Prize' Milton Keynes - competition finalist, judges: Phoebe Unwin, artist; Michael Stanley, Turner Prize judge and director of Modern Art, Oxford, 2009.

• 108 Fine Art, Harrogate - specially commissioned paintings with Alan Davie, Ansel Krut, Adrian Wiszniewski and others, 2009.

• India Art Summit, Emerging World Art, Delhi, with James Green, Guler Ates, Will Martyr, 2008.

• 'In Search of Beauty', Menier Gallery, London, with Patrick Caulfield, Josef Albers, John Hoyland, 2008

Education

• BA Honours, Fine Art Painting, City and Guilds of London School of Art.

• BSc Honours, Physics, Loughborough University. First Class.

Thank YOU

I am pleased and proud to work with many great people. Some from recent public events are pictured here, but there are many more that I’d like to thank. Thanks to Imperial Public Engagement Team, and the scientists around the globe who help me discover the world and find new ways to talk about it. Great appreciation to the primary and secondary teachers and educators who’ve invited and inspired us to work with their students. I am also grateful to those who fund and support our work: The Leverhulme Trust, The American Institute of Physics, The Sun, Space, Art Project, UKRI, The British Science Festival, The Place, A New Direction and The Arts Council.