24 February 2011

University brings science and fashion together in the heart of the city

Our University has helped breathe new life into a groundbreaking exhibition which brings together high fashion and the science of embryology to depict some of the first 1,000 hours of human life.

Primitive Streak, is a unique collaboration between fashion and science which first appeared on the cultural horizon in 1997 and is being relaunched in Sheffield’s Winter Gardens during February and March. The seminal work, comprising of 27 dresses, depicts the complex developmental journey that the human embryo undertakes in its first 1,000 hours of life.

The 14-year-old collection has already travelled the world but thanks to our University, the exhibition being held in the city’s Winter Gardens during February and March will feature a brand new dress dedicated specifically to the development of the embryonic lung.

Sisters Professor Helen Storey, artist and designer, and developmental biologist Professor Kate Storey, Head of the Division of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Dundee, collaborated to produce the dresses.

The new ‘lung’ dress will sit alongside nine key pieces from the original collection. Working with her sister Kate as a guide, Helen has explored the extraordinary structure of the lung and the very fine cellular membranes that exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air to the blood hidden deep inside the body. This new challenging work incorporates bespoke textiles to evoke the feel, function and numerous processes within the development of the human respiratory surfaces.

Helen and Kate Storey have been working on the Sheffield exhibition with help from the University’s Department of Biomedical Science. The University has also raised vital funding in order for the new ‘lung’ dress to be produced and displayed in the city.

Award-winning artist and designer Helen, who has worked with the University in the art and science domain for six years, said: “I am delighted to be working with the Department of Biomedical Science allowing us to reach new audiences and share our collective passion for bringing science into culture in unexpected and beautiful ways.

“Both Kate and I are delighted to be unveiling our latest addition to the Primitive Streak collection in Sheffield.”

Kate added: "The University is well known for its strengths in Developmental Biology and Genetics and it is very exciting to be re-launching our exhibition here."

Professor Matthew Holley, Head of the Department of Biomedical Science, said: “I have followed Primitive Streak closely since its creation in 1997 and I am delighted to see it in Sheffield. The exhibition is both beautiful and thought-provoking and we hope that it will raise awareness of the dynamic interactions between our environment and the extraordinarily delicate tissues through which we breathe.”

The Sheffield event is part of a 2011 National Tour of the collection, supported by the Wellcome Trust. The ten dresses will be on display in the city’s Winter Gardens until 12 March 2011.