Sandra Wilson

Sandra Wilson is a Dundee-based conceptual jeweller whose work is concerned with the interface between craft and science. Her work communicates scientific principles through unique forms of jewellery and ways of wearing. This has won many awards including an Audi Foundation and British European Designers Group Award for commercial potential.

In 2003, an award for Creative Development enabled Sandra to work in partnership with another jeweller Jivan Astfalck from London and a scientist Dr Bernard de Bono from the Medical Research Council in Cambridge to produce a new collection of work based on protein architecture.

This has involved taking raw data of protein forms from scientific software packages such as Rasmol and translating it into files suitable for rapid prototyping. In this way, wax models of protein forms have been produced for the first time in the United Kingdom.  The wax models have then been either cast or electroformed and in some cases incorporate magnets. The images here show some of the work in progress.

The award has therefore enabled Sandra to develop skills in rapid prototyping and electroplating that could not have been gained otherwise.

This work will be on show at Centrespace, in the Visual Research Centre, Dundee Contemporary Arts from 17th July – 1st August 2004.