Revelations: Experiments in Photography, Science Museum

Science and art collide in the Science Museum Media Space exhibition 2015, Revelations: Experiments in Photography. The show examines the history of scientific photography and its immense influence on generations of art photographers. You’ll find over 100 examples on display, including some of the National Photography Collection’s earliest images by industry legends.

Science Museum Revelations

Since the 1840s, scientists have used photography to freeze time and record things that the naked eye can’t see. This Science Museum photography show showcases ground breaking images produced during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, from original X-Ray negatives and photomicrography to snapshots from the 1800s of electrical charge.

Science Museum exhibition highlights

We were particularly excited to see the show’s collection of iconic high-speed photographs taken by Berenice Abbott, Eadweard Muybridgr and Harold Edgerton at MIT. His iconic shots of bullets through apples and lemons were a particular highlight. The vibrance of these photographs reveal that Edgerton's aesthetic considerations sat happily alongside his scientific curiosity. 

Harold Eugene Edgerton, detail, 1955

Man Ray's photographs of electrical appliances and celestial bodies fuse the domestic and universal in a characteristically striking fashion. 

Électricité, Man Ray (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1890–1976 Paris)

Photography and contemporary art

This Science Museum photography exhibit traces the influence of original, unseen photographs on contemporary art, placing key scientific works next to modern masterpieces by artists like Trevor Paglen. Idris Khan's take on Muybridge's motion shots show nude figures rising, and these palimpsests range from the enigmatic to shyly erotic. 

Idris Khan, Human and Animal Locomotion, 2005 

Sitting on the border between art and science, Revelations is an absolute must-see for photography fans.