Artists celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA at new exhibition

Issue date: 12 March 2003

'Four Plus: Writing DNA'; incorporating the first public display of the Francis Crick archive

Date: 4 April 2003–29 August 2003
Location: TwoTen Gallery and the Wellcome Building
Address: Wellcome Trust, 210 and 183 Euston Road, London NW1
T 020 7611 8888
Opening times: TwoTen Gallery, Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00
Admission free
Nearest tubes: Euston, Euston Square and Warren Street

The 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA is commemorated by ten artists and celebrated by the first public viewing of Francis Crick's archive at a ground-breaking exhibition opening on 4 April throughout the Wellcome Trust.

On 25 April 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick published a paper in the scientific journal 'Nature' that would go on to change the world. Their discovery that the DNA molecule had a double helix shape made from two linked strands, suggested a means by which it could be duplicated and pass on its information to new generations. Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, two other researchers who had also been studying various aspects of DNA, published their X-ray pictures in separate papers in the same edition of 'Nature'. Their role in the discovery has been the source of controversy ever since, but Franklin's meticulous studies using X-rays to probe its structure are now acknowledged to be the key to solving the puzzle.

Ten artists - both established and emerging - have been commissioned to provide their own interpretation of the subject. One of the artists provides a very personal view of James Watson, and another is intrigued by the comparable anonymity of co-discoverer Maurice Wilkins. Others have either responded to the iconic status of Rosalind Franklin or chosen to comment on the social history of DNA and genetics.

The exhibits and artworks are displayed at various locations in the Trust's two Euston Road addresses, and a map is provided to help visitors to navigate the maze, in a process mimicking that of scientific discovery. Four of the artists have produced limited-edition multiples to accompany their commissions; these which will be available free of charge at the exhibition or via its website.

Denna Jones, Curator of the exhibition said: "The passionate debate around what is arguably the greatest discovery of the 20th century, and its consequences, has stimulated artistic responses using a variety of media, including sound, film, images and writings. The Wellcome Trust was responsible for the UK's contribution to the public Human Genome Project which, 50 years after the discovery of the structure of DNA, is itself coming to fruition. I hope that visitors will be prompted to consider the passions and personalities that contributed to this momentous discovery and the impact the genetic revolution has had on our lives."

Sir John Sulston, former Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Nobel Prize winner, who is opening the exhibition, said: "This is an auspicious year for all of us - the 50th anniversary of the structure and the year the final human genome sequence will be published. We have come a long way in half a century, and it's a good time to reflect on what it all means. I greatly look forward to viewing the exhibition."

Artists include the following:

Kevin Clarke, a New York-born artist with a long-standing interest in genetics. He has studied and known James Watson for more than ten years. One of his works in the current exhibition combines the DNA sequence taken from a blood sample provided by Watson with a photographic image. At Watson's suggestion, Clarke worked with a manufacturer of DNA sequencing instruments to create a new procedure that used his blood for direct sequencing. Clarke's work is also currently on view in 'How Human? Life in the Post-Genome Era' at the International Centre of Photography in New York, and in 'From Codescript to Commodity' at the New York Academy of Science.

Commenting on his relationship with Watson, Clarke told how the co-discover of the structure of DNA recently recalled a meeting with Salvador Dali. Discussing Dali's painting 'Galacidalacidesoxirbunucleicacid' (also known as 'Homage to Watson and Crick') of 1962-63 - the first painting to incorporate DNA, Clarke said: "Dali told Watson that his and Crick's discovery had revealed to him that God does indeed exist. Watson replied that it proved to him to mean the exact opposite."

The Glasgow-born artist Gair Dunlop explores themes of identity, place and the body using a range of media, from the Internet, large-scale photographic pieces, and experimental art, to short films. In the current exhibition, he uses a Rolodex card file, footage from 'Century 21 calling' - a Bell laboratories promotional film shot at the 1962 Seattle World Fair brimming with energetic optimism for the future, and a rickety 1950s wooden desk to create a faux-active scientific workspace within a secluded reading bay in the Wellcome Library. Dunlop's work interweaves contemporary events, concerns and media stories with biographical fragments relating to Maurice Wilkins' opposition to nuclear weapons, his commitment to social responsibility in science, and his studies of DNA. The work also contrasts the popular and optimistic mid-20th-century conception of scientific discovery with personal and social chronologies. Dunlop has exhibited in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia.

Graeme J Walker is an emerging young artist with a fellowship at Northumbria University who comments wryly and perceptively on the human condition, drawing attention to the ambiguities and uncertainties of life. For this exhibition, he has created a limited-edition cartoon pamphlet, which will be available free to exhibition visitors. His first London exhibition was at Bookartbookshop in 2002.

Media contact

Shaun Griffin
Wellcome Trust Media Office
T +44 (0)20 7611 8612
E s.griffin@wellcome.ac.uk

Notes to editors

1. The exhibiting artists are: Neil Chapman; Kevin Clarke; Jessica Curry and Dan Pinchbeck; Richard Dedomenici; Gair Dunlop; Ruth Maclennan; Penny McCarthy; Gonzalo Páramo Pino and Graeme J Walker.

2. A comprehensive press pack for the exhibition is available to download. The pack includes: a selection of images from the exhibition, biographies of the exhibiting artists with descriptions of their artworks, and text to accompany the exhibition by curator Denna Jones.

3. A private view (on 8 April 2003) by will be addressed by Sir John Sulston, who, as former Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, spearheaded the UK's contribution to the Human Genome Project, and its principle of free access. If you would like to attend this event, please contact Claire Griffiths on 020 7611 8777; c.griffiths@wellcome.ac.uk.

4. As well as the TwoTen Gallery (opening times above), the exhibition will also be shown at various locations on 183 Euston Road. If the exhibition is seen in its entirety, then exhibits in 183 Euston Road should be viewed Monday–Friday during the core hours of 09:45 to 17:00; Saturday 09:00 to 13:00. Outside these times, Library and Information Service opening times vary – for more details see the Wellcome Library opening hours" target="_blank">Wellcome Library opening hours.

5. Francis Crick's archive was purchased last year by the Wellcome Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Each contributed £904 000 to ensure that Crick's important, landmark papers would be saved for the nation. Housed in the Wellcome Library, these papers will be freely accessible to Library users.

6. The discovery of the structure of DNA (a summary):
Early in the 1950s, one woman and three men - Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins - were researching aspects of DNA. Franklin's meticulous studies using X-rays to probe its structure were the key to solving the puzzle. She was methodical and cautious about announcing her findings, but the bigger picture already existed in her images. Wilkins shared Franklin's results with Watson and Crick who, using their model building and crystallographic expertise, were vigorously trying to uncover the structure of DNA. They immediately realized the significance of the images and acted upon the information. The result, the discovery that the DNA molecule had a double helix shape made from two linked strands, suggested a means by which it could be duplicated and pass on its information to new generations.

Watson and Crick's paper, 'Molecular structure of nucleic acids: a structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid,' published in 'Nature' on 25 April 1953 contained the somewhat coy sentence: "It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material." Franklin and Wilkins' published their X-ray pictures in separate papers in the same edition of 'Nature'. DNA was the chemical stuff of life, and we now knew how it passed on its information. Fifty years later, in 2003, the sequence of the three billion letters of our genetic material will be finished by the international Human Genome Sequencing consortium. DNA has become a cultural icon, and the impact of the genetics revolution will be with us for generations to come.

7. The Wellcome Trust is an independent research-funding charity, established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. It is funded from a private endowment which is managed with long-term stability and growth in mind. The Trust's mission is to promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health.

8. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute was founded in 1992 as the focus for the UK sequencing effort of the human and mouse genomes. The Institute is responsible for the completion of the sequence of approximately one-third of the human genome and one-fifth of the mouse, The Institute is also a major contributor to the mapping and sequencing of the zebrafish genome and genomes of a range of pathogens. The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is based in Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.

9. The Wellcome Library has over 600 000 books and journals, an extensive range of manuscripts, archives and films and more than 100 000 pictures. It is one of the world's major resources for the study of medical history. More than 30 000 readers visited the library last year, including historians, academics, students, health professionals and journalists.