The aesthetics of reproductive morphologies

Abstract

This thesis is about the diversity and complexity of genitalic morphologies. It aims to answer two interrelated research questions: What contribution can visual arts research and practice make to a general public's understanding of complex scientific phenomena, and what strategies are most effective for representing these phenomena in a way that honours that complexity and engages the viewer comprehensively and with well-informed affects, beyond the simple provision of verbal information? I have approached this research as an artist, from a visual and sensory perspective. I have made original images and objects that stand on their own as artworks, at the same time that they communicate scientific concepts that are difficult to convey to a general audience. The thesis aims to understand the science behind the general question of morphological extravagance, and to create 'plastic' forms that can engage meaningfully with a general audience. My two research two topics focus on the complex forms and competing theories that are currently put forward to explain the incredible extravagance of animal genitalia. Through my practice as an artist, I show that an artistic/museological mode of communication is an effective means of generating and disseminating the inter-disciplinary knowledge that I synthesise here. The thesis investigates the complex and various morphologies of selected animal genitalia, placing the scientific understandings of their form and function into a cultural context (that of the museum). My artwork comments on how museums of natural history have had a general and continuing influence on how the public engage with 'artful science'. This project provides a new and original understanding of the aesthetic, pedagogic and communicative possibilities of the museum as an art form. The research also draws upon established biological pathways (including 'biophillia' and 'formaphillia') that shape emotional and aesthetic affinity for biological form and novelty. I also mobilise non-literary forms of communication, such as three-dimensional displays, audio-visual information, and limited written text to engage the general public and specialised audiences alike. And finally, I use the allure of sexual selection, what we might call 'aesthetic selection', to seduce large audiences and to trigger a sense of curiosity, awe and wonder.