The art and science project I decided to assemble portrays the idea of how symbols in life are not the real component. For instance, the symbol of an atom is not a real atom however; it is a representation of what we believe it appears to be. Therefore, some of the symbols I have illustrated on the Bristol board are representations of chemistry. My art work consists of a representation of a brain, gratefully given by Vanier College’s biology center. The brain represents the intelligence and creativity every person endures. The assumption of this ideology will portray the image of what people imagine a real representation of chemistry is on the Bristol board. The Bristol board acts as the screen of thought. The brain is connected to the screen by a computer cord to show the flow of thought. This proves what the brain visualizes when thinking of certain chemistry elements. The rationale behind this idea shows how the brain demonstrates its understanding of how chemistry is represented for example, what an electron or atom looks like. The Bristol board exemplifies the main symbol of a brown Christian cross overlapped with a large red heart and both pierced with a thick black pen. The symbol to know if a cross is Christian, the acronym I.N.R.I. is carved on the top meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” translated from Latin. The symbol of the heart represents passion. In this case the passion is for chemistry. The Christian cross is a symbolic representation associated with religious beliefs. The black pen represents rationality and how it may be in conflict with spirituality. Therefore, the pen defeats the other two symbols because it overlaps reoccurring symbols such as the cross and shows that thinking leads to other symbols and scientific concepts. The importance of the pierced heart and cross is that it shows the significance of symbols and how they represent many objects. Many components in chemistry are represented by symbols because they are portrayed to be seen a certain way. No one ever really shows they have table salt instead they will write the symbol, NaCl. The symbols surrounding the pierced heart and cross are representations of chemistry such as the symbol e- for an electron, NaCl for table salt, E=mc2 for Albert Einstein’s famous formula and the representation of an atom. The symbols were specifically chosen because science student regularly sees them and thinks that an atom is really its representation drawn on the Bristol board. The formula E=mc2 distinctively represents physics and induces its association in the brain. It is a sudden reaction because the symbols are brain washed in our minds to think symbols and representations of something are the real element. The ideas are related to Quantum in connection with its philosophical implications. The advertisement and pictures of celebrities are displayed randomly around the Bristol board to show that, as a person in today’s society, while someone is thinking, they do not only have science on their mind. Images may appear to them such as, Lady Gaga, team F in the Fifa World Cup and the greed for money. In today’s generation, people think differently depending on where they live in the world and the time capsule they are born in. The collage illustrates when people do think about science certain aspects are viewed such as how society lives today. In North America, society over looks many Adidas, Coca-cola and fashion advertisements rather than someone who was born in 1950, may have not been exposed to these forms of collage. Therefore, his/her way of thinking is completely different than someone’s of today’s generations. The branches of the atom orbiting around the collage bring all the elements together as a whole to show they are interconnected such as the brain is fluently thinking of all these elements. The purple atoms are placed on the branches to represent a flow of atoms through-out the collage. Personally, I thought of this idea because as a science student I constantly see these symbols and representations of science however, sometimes I forget what the real element is and only memorize the representation of it. This project broadened my idea of how chemistry is thought upon from the brain and how it is illustrated in symbols. It is an excellent project to thinking outside the box and creates a fascinating art work.





