Barcode UK-Moving beyond the Visible: Collaborative Research between a Photographic Artist and Botanical Scientists

Using as a case study the author’s second collaborative research project with botanical scientists based upon the Barcode UK research initiative, and with reference to a range of other science/art projects, this paper explores the insights, findings, and added value of art and science collaborations. The author is a photographic artist and researcher and has collaborated with botanical scientist Dr. Natasha De Vere, lead scientist at the National Botanic Garden of Wales during two science research projects, the first project to identify the DNA of the native flora of Wales and the second, upon which this paper is focussed, the DNA of the flora of the UK. The author’s photography has its origins in a twelve-year research project to find new ways of photographing the landscape, to counter the established conventions of the picturesque and sublime. The author’s current photographic practice has developed directly from the science/art interaction and is a visual representation of one of the applications of the science—the role of moths in pollination, and will form a touring exhibition Barcode UK—Moving beyond the Visible, in early 2014