Calcareous Earth Artistic responses to the Oral, Dental and Craniofacial collections at The Royal College of Surgeons Library & Archives.
In progress: Gallagher Artist in Residence 2026, The Royal College of Surgeons of England Library & Archives. Residency and research commenced in June 2026 with planned end of residency presentation in April 2027 (tbc).
Calcareous Earth looks at the materiality of teeth from a deep space-time perspective and extends my interest in calcium carbonate – and calcium – as a bridge between living and non-living systems and the complex entanglements between the human and the mineral. My research began with John Hunter’s treatise TThe Natural History of Human Teeth (1771), in which he describes experiments using madder dye to investigate tooth enamel and the boundary between living and non-living matter. Subsequent research has followed this debate through the centuries to contemporary science around bio-mineralisation processes involved in the laying down of tooth enamel, which is controlled by calcium signalling and operates according to circadian rhythms. The work of May Mellanby whose work around diet and tooth formation opens up questions around bodily processes, environmental conditions and public health. A relation between prisms, calcite and stellar spectra are also emerging and how lines register relationships between interlocking systems and scales.