The Coded Lab

Reflecting on art-science collaborations with the Cancer Research UK Institute Manchester and biophysicists in the University of Leeds ‘Creative Labs: Biological Sciences 2nd Edition’, this chapter positions textiles within a communication paradigm to express scientific enquiry. Thomas Kuhn’s theories of episodic paradigm shifting in relation to revolutionary science (1962) and the accepted model of diligent sequences of closed parameter laboratory experiments as a route to major scientific discovery were considered within this process. Examining how smaller exploratory studies lead to and from major scientific breakthroughs, the relationship between historical and contemporary science emerged as the catalyst for the textile practice. Within the context of these textile explorations, the scientists fulfilled a dual role of content provider and informed audience, providing intermediate perceptions on the meanings generated. They became part of the semiotic cycle of ‘reflection in action’ (Schon, 2000; Getzel & Csikszentmihalyi, 1976) that informed the creative textile-based interpretation of their research.