Angela McQuillan

2024

A series of paintings depicting an abstract expression of the intricate relationship between multiple genetic and environmental factors in the emergence of polygenic diseases like depression and addiction. This series is intended to be a bridge between the abstract concept of genetics and the deeply personal experience of mental health. It transforms scientific complexity into a thought-provoking visual language, engaging viewers in a contemplation of the multifaceted forces that shape our minds and the challenges we face in understanding and treating conditions influenced by both our genetics and our environment.

2023

Images created with Midjourney and Photoshop.

Rocking chairs created for the Philadelphia Airport by Angela McQuillan

Philadelphia artist Angela McQuillan is a mixed media artist who is inspired by her former work in science—two fields of study that share many common traits including experimentation, exploration, and creative problem solving. McQuillan has said that she is “drawn to the lure of the unknown and the quest for more knowledge. I am interested in the processes that occur inside of a living entity that are invisible to the eye yet essential to life.” Her background in science has fueled her fascination with “organic forms, anatomical subjects, and biological processes.”

Here, McQuillan has created a series of forms titled Chimera. In Greek mythology, a chimera is a “fire breathing female hybrid monster.” In biology, it references “an organism or tissue that contains at least two different sets of DNA,” and the dictionary defines chimera as “something to achieve, a fantasy, a dream, and a figment of the imagination.” Like the multitude of definitions, McQuillan has combined a variety of materials—ceramic and soft sculpture, with varying processes—hand built clay, sewn fabric, and crochet, to create 3-dimensional forms that allude to biological systems. The open patterned network of the black clay with its hardened surface envelops and protects the softer, smaller, more colorful, tactile elements within.

McQuillan’s sculptural objects resemble cells, human organs, and living vessels. They are fantastical hybrids of her imagination that as she says, “Together they represent biodiversity, the importance of an ecosystem, and a respect and curiosity for worlds that have yet to be discovered.” 

-Leah Douglas

In the early 1800s, microscopes grew in popularity and “Victorian Microscope Slides” began emerging as an important staple in ones Cabinet of Curiosities.  Diatoms were some of the first minute life forms observed with early microscopes, and they were usually arranged in elaborate patterns and mounted on a slide for viewing.  These beautiful and highly skilled arrangements of tiny organisms inspired my “Pond Scum” series. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the complexity of life that happens under the surface, hidden to the eye.  When you look at a natural body of water, you don’t notice the billions of tiny organisms buzzing around right in front of your eyes, all of them essential to the life of the entire planet.  I wanted to bring attention to these tiny beings and to bring elements of this micro world into closer view.  By organizing the images in this way, I attempt to bring order to nature, and try to display it in a rational way.

To make these images, I collected water specimens from bodies of water on site at the Schuylkill Environmental Center and imaged diatoms, algae, protozoa and other tiny aquatic life using a microscope with a digital camera attached.  After photographing the organisms, I used Photoshop to arrange them into intricate kaleidoscopic patterns, much like the microscope slides from the Victorian era. 

These are not only pretty pictures, but also contain data about the quality of the water supply and how it changes over time.  Algae and other organisms can be used as bioindicators in water quality evaluations.  I am very interested in studying the natural environment and looking at the anthropogenic impact.

This body of work is inspired by my time spent as Artistic Advisor at the Penn Network Visualization Program.  This Network Science program has really informed my own artwork, and in the past year I have been working on a series of pieces based on studying complex systems, which is a new field of science studying how parts of a system give rise to the collective behaviors of the system, and how the system interacts with its environment.  These ideas are not only limited to neuroscience and brain function, but can be applied to basically any system or series of relationships, from planets to social networks.  I am interested in the interconnectedness of all things, and how to create order out of what appears to be chaos.

various projects inspired by cellular structure, protein structure and DNA structure.