SciArt collaboration at JRC
The artistic work of Siobhán McDonald unfolds as an evolving inquiry into the fragile thresholds where land, water, and time converge. Rooted in over a decade of research at the intersection of art, science and ecology, and a trajectory initiated through S+T+ARTS4Water, this new research phase extends her investigation from the marshlands of Ireland to the shifting wetlands of the Camargue. Here, the artist engages with a landscape defined by ecological, geological and cultural permeability, where the boundary between sea and soil is in constant negotiation. At the core of this inquiry lies an attention to wetlands as dynamic archives. Rising sea levels and the erosion of coastal edges are approached, beyond scientific phenomena, as lived and sensed transformations that reshape both ecosystems and human imaginaries. Through the integration of satellite imagery, including insights derived from the Global Surface Water Explorer, and field-based observations of soil erosion, tidal movements, and marine traces within salt marshes, McDonald wants to traces the material and temporal imprints of climate change.
This residency is developed in dialogue with scientific partners including Arwyn Jones (Land and Climate Unit) and Thomas Kemper (Global Human Settlement Layer) at the Joint Research Centre, as well as collaborators from European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Camargo Foundation. work explores and expands that liminal space between environmental science, policy needs and historical connection.
Meet the artist
Siobhán McDonald is an Irish artist based in Dublin. Her practice draws attention to contemporary topics dealing with air, breath and atmospheric phenomena, weaving scientific knowledge into her art in a poetic and thoughtful manner, emphasising field work and collaboration she works with natural materials, withdrawing them from their cycles of generation, growth and decay. This process gives form to a range of projects which consider our place on Earth in the context of geological time. Her work with glaciers and other natural phenomena deploys a unique artistic language that gives form to intangible and richly varied processes including painting, drawing, film and sound.
Meet the Scientists
Arwyn Jones - Soil scientist; Land Resources & Supply Chain Assessment
Thomas Kemper - Human Settlement Analysis
Johannes Uhl - Geographic Information scientist
Explore their work:
European Soil Data Centre ESDAC - European Commission
Global Water Surface Explorer Global Surface Water Explorer
Global Human Settlement Global Human Settlement - GHSL Homepage - European Commission
Related Links
S+T+ARTS Project Short Documentary SALTAIR, Imagining a Future Project