FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS is a free ‘lab in the gallery’ at Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin launches today.
Has fat got a reputation it doesn’t deserve? Do you sit, slouch or sleep more than you stand, stroll or sprint? Do you have to be thin to be fit? What are the fads and myths of fat? From health and survival to vanity and gossip – it’s time to embrace this delicious molecule that is essential to life yet a contributing factor to so many deaths.
Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin today launched FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS, a free ‘lab in the gallery’ that will take data from visitors that will contribute to real reasearch. Visitors will have the opportunity to discover the surprising positives and alarming negatives of fat as Science Gallery serve up some tasty treats in a peculiar diner experience that’s chock-full of experiments, demos and tastings that explore the molecular and maleficent side of oils, fats, lipids and blubber. Fat makes donuts delicious, is vital in forming cell membranes, and since 1980 it is also responsible for 2.8 million deaths per year. FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS tackles this duality, inviting visitors to experiment, eat and explore fat.
Curated by Cliona O’Farrelly, Professor of Comparative Immunology at Trinity College Dublin and Luke O’Neill, Director of Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and Professor of Biochemistry, the gallery will transform into a diner for 6 weeks, serving visitors with the form and function of fat through 9 research experiments, 11 art installations and a taster menu of tests.
Highlights include:
-
Human fat removed from a patient who has undergone a ‘tummy tuck’
-
An artist who invites visitors to participate in a hand-washing ritual with soap made from his own body fat
-
Animal fat in alcohol which will marinate over the course of FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS and will be served at a feast to mark the close of the exhibition by Michelin star chef Kevin Thornton
-
6 guest-curated ‘Tuesday Night Bites’ with invited guest chefs, dieticians, scientists and artists, kicking off with The Marker Hotel and Newgrange Gold on 20th of May
-
A scaled-up sculptural representation of adenosine triphosphate, the powerhouse of human cells
Speaking at the launch, Director of Science Gallery Lynn Scarff said: “We are bombarded with information about fat and obesity from radical diets to impending epidemics. Science Gallery’s FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS exhibition is taking a unique approach by tackling the duality of fat – a molecule that is essential to life and yet contributes to significant health issues through obesity. Visitors to FAT: It’s delicious will experience a unique diner that offers an opportunity to contribute to real research and to explore a variety of work which explodes the myths of this marvelous molecule”
Curator Cliona O’Farrelly added “Nowadays many of us are obsessed with fat, but from only one perspective, how much is on our bodies! I’d love people to know just how amazing the science of fat is. Fat is a kind of biobattery, a really efficient way of storing energy. Just think of a well-fed whale being able to power itself halfway across the globe, give birth and feed a ton of baby, all because of the fat laid down in its blubber. So how do we turn food into fat and fat back into food and energy? FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS explores aspects of these questions. And there’s so much more: Why do we become addicted to fat? Why does fat taste so delicious?”
Whether it’s a chance to discover their own basal metabolic rate, partake in a simple experiment demonstrating the hydrophobic nature of fats, or donate some of their blood to research on ‘sticky platelets’, FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS aims to provide visitors with an insight into this unique and magnificent molecule
FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS opens to the public on the 16th of May and has a special events programme running alongside the exhibition including a series of ‘Tuesday Night Bites’ beginning 20th of May’ and Stephen O’Rahilly and Donal O’Shea discussing obesity on 27th of June.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
What: FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS, a free ‘LAB IN THE GALLERY’ exploring the good, the bad and the beauty of fat at Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin
Where: Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
When: 16.05.14 – 29.06.14
More information:http://www.sciencegallery.com/
EVENTS
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2014 – 15:00 TO 16:00
MAKING HUMAN SOAP: A TALK BY ORESTES DE LA PAZ
FREE – PLEASE REGISTER
One of the artworks featured in FAT is Making Soap, a performance and installation by Miami-based artist Orestes De La Paz. To create some of the most unusual cosmetics we’ve ever seen in the gallery, Orestes had liposuction and made soap from his own fat — exploring the objectification of the body while revealing what we can do with this taken-for-granted tissue. Orestes will be joining us to tell us about the process and to discuss the role of fat in his work.
TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: THE MARKER HOTEL, NEWGRANGE GOLD, AND BRIGID LANIGAN
€12
Join in a celbration of the healthy fats in this night dedicated to delicious, beneficial, good-for-you oils – how they’re made, how they’re used, and why they behave the way they do.
TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: DONUTS, CLOUD PICKER COFFEE, AND FIONA MURPHY
€10
Fat can be bad, but it makes things taste so, so good. Explore the part fat plays in that classic coffee and donuts combo. We’re also joined by opera singer Fiona Murphy to chat about the cultural side of fat.
TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: SHERIDAN’S CHEESEMONGERS AND NUALA MOORE
€10
Ice swimmer Nuala Moore talks about fat as insulation and life as an extreme swimmer, and Sheridan’s Cheesemongers talk all about fat and cheese!
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JUNE 7 & 8, 2014 – 12:00 TO 17:00
FAT-TASTIC DIGESTION WITH SCIENTIFIC SUE
€6 INDIVIDUAL OR A FAMILY TICKET OF 4 €20
Join Scientific Sue for this all-ages science show on fat, food and digestion! We’ll need some brave volunteers who aren’t afraid to get a little messy, and you may even learn a thing or two.
TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: SAFEFOOD AND SCIENCE GALLERY CAFÉ
€10
Explore how appearance can be deceiving, how our minds play games with us and how all this connects to the food we eat.
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: NATASHA CZOPOR FROM NATASHA’S LIVING FOOD
€10
Creating mouth-watering treats using only healthy ingredients sounds impossible, but this is exactly what Natasha Czopor does. Come explore how healthy doesn’t mean you have to give up your daily chocolate fix.
THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:30
THE FUTURE OF THE BODY, FEATURING ORLAN AND RACHEL ARMSTRONG [FULLY BOOKED]
€5 – PRE-BOOKING ESSENTIAL
Join performance artist ORLAN and scientist and innovator Rachel Armstrong for a conversation about the future of the human body. Find out how the collision of surgery and art sparks important questions about the future of the flesh. ORLAN is an award-winning artist whose work incorporates medicine, science, technology, and often her own body – she was the first artist to use surgery as an artistic medium.
TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
TUESDAY NIGHT BITES: THE LAST BITE, WITH KEVIN THORNTON AND LUKE O’NEILL
€15
In the final feast of the mind, FAT co-curator Luke O’Neill and Michelin star chef Kevin Thornton joins us to celebrate FAT: IT’S DELICIOUS in style! Find out how fat can make fine dining fabulous
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 – 18:00 TO 19:15
STEPHEN O’RAHILLY ON THE SCIENCE OF FAT, WITH DONAL O’SHEA
€5
Join Stephen O’Rahilly, one of the world’s leading experts on fat, as he chats to obesity expert Donal O’Shea about the science behind excess fat.
ABOUT SCIENCE GALLERY
In 2008, a car park in a forgotten corner of Dublin was transformed into a living experiment that would bridge art and science, unleashing their combined creative potential. A groundbreaking initiative pioneered by Trinity College Dublin, Science Gallery is a new kind of space where art and science collide – a porous membrane between the university and the city. Since opening in 2008, over 1 million visitors to Science Gallery have experienced 26 unique exhibitions – ranging from living art experiments to materials science and from the future of the human race to the future of play. Primarily oriented towards young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 years old, Science Gallery develops an ever-changing programme of exhibitions, events and experiences fuelled by the expertise of scientists, researchers, students, artists, designers, inventors, creative thinkers and entrepreneurs. Science Gallery focuses on providing programmes and experiences that allow visitors to participate and facilitate social connections, always providing an element of surprise. Science Gallery is kindly supported by the Wellcome Trust as founding partner, and by ‘Science Circle’ members – Deloitte, Google, ICON, NTR Foundation, and Pfizer. Science Gallery also receives government support from the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht and Science Foundation Ireland, and from the European Seventh Framework Programme. Science Gallery’s media partner is The Irish Times. For more information visit www.sciencegallery.com
ABOUT TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
Founded in 1592, Trinity is at the nexus of tradition and innovation, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across 24 schools and three faculties: arts, humanities, and social sciences; engineering, maths and science; and health sciences. Spread across 50 acres in Dublin city centre, Trinity’s 17,000-strong student body comes from all 32 counties in Ireland and 16% of students come from outside the country. Of those, 40% are from outside the European Union, making Trinity’s campus cosmopolitan and bustling, with a focus on diversity. Home to Nobel prize-winners such as scientist Ernest Walton and writer Samuel Beckett, Trinity is known for intellectual rigour, academic excellence and research-led teaching. The university draws visitors from across the world to its historic campus each year, including to the Book of Kells and Science Gallery which capture the university’s connection to both old and new. Ranked 61 in the world in the latest QS World Rankings, Trinity accounts for one-fifth of all spin-out companies from Irish higher education institutions, helping to turn Ireland into an innovation-intensive, high-productivity economy. Trinity has some 100,000 alumni spread across the world.