"n01se: transforming sensation" at the Wellcome Trust's Two 01 Gallery

The self consciously 21st century title of this exhibition puts it into that bracket of corporate sponsored contemporary art occupied by Saatchi's protégés and the contents of London's Millennium Dome. The blurb contained abstruse phrases alluding to the "sounds of colours and the shape of taste." What's more, it promised to connect art and science. Few exhibitions have managed to meld what is essentially art with the essence of science without resorting to Dadaism (a vacuum cleaner on a stand) or microscopic images. Therefore I approached this exhibition with some cynicism.

The exhibition consisted of eight disparate pieces relegated to the lobby of an office building. Ominous sci-fi muzak pervaded the space. There were the usual suspects-images of microbes and an electron microscope of a ladybird. A three dimensional polystyrene "photo" encouraged visitors to explore images through the hands of blind people. Another notable piece was "White Noise," several scrawled notes pasted on a board to represent the "conversation" of a deaf person. The notes belong to the deaf artist, and for the morbidly curious it was an irresistibly cryptic vignette of the artist's life. On an artistic level it showed the inadequacy of the written word in replacing the spontaneity of verbal communication and how uneasy the crossover between the senses can be.

The most eye catching exhibit was not so much a work of art but a working experiment: "Talking Heads." Coloured shapes were arranged on a white surface. A "robotic" installation was able to visualise these shapes and conceptualise each shape verbally. The robot does not have a pre-programmed language but communicates what it sees with similar installations through the world by internet. Can the robots cooperate and share their words? Will a dominant cursory language arise from the robots' word games?

For those who can move beyond the Turner-Prizesque feel of the gallery, "n01se" is worth a visit. For me the most informative piece was pencilled on a napkin and attached to the "White Noise" board:

"Do you know what LL Cool J means?

Ladies Love Cool James."

I have always wanted to know that.

Sripurna Basu, third year medical student,, St Bartholomew's and The Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London


studentBMJ 2000;08:131-174 May ISSN 0966-6494