Magmas

Poetry and science share a restless stance towards the world, an appetite for nonconformist inquiry, always steeped in doubt and questions. With the tools of risk, rigour, intuition, and freedom, poetry and science are engaged in a quest for deeper understanding of reality. In pursuing this end, they both defy established conventions and push their languages to the limits of their possibilities.

Groundbreaking science will change our way of understanding life and the relationship that we, as humans, have with the planet and the universe. It is therefore crucial that all the challenges presented by this project are addressed from every facet of humanism, moving into frontier areas and without compartmentalising.

Creation, in both science and poetry, arises from tension between the known and the uncertain. Four contemporary Catalan poets have accepted the challenge of becoming immersed in the everyday existence of four research centres to compare standpoints with scientists, share concerns, and come together in making their languages travel through surprising spaces.

Curator
Joan Duran

Institute of Photonic Sciences
Poet: Pol Vouillamoz
Researchers: Carmen Rubio-Verdú, Lorenzo Rossi, Hippolyte Dourdent, Andreas Leitherer and Francesco Flora

ALBA Synchrotron
Poet: Lluís Calvo
Researchers: Lucía Aballe, Esther Barrena and Jordi Arbiol

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia
Poet: Mireia Casanyes
Researchers: Özge Özguç, Ona Baguer, Steffen Grosser, Margherita Gallano, Carles Prado, Yudish Varma, Carla Arroyo, José María Muñoz, Inés Macias, Marina Placci, Tom White and Gotthold Fläschner

Institute of High Energy Physics
Poet: Anna Aguilar-Amat
Researchers: Ramon Miquel, Christian Neissner, Tamara Vázquez, Diego Blas and Mònica Seglar

“Radical Science” is a cultural project resulting from the research strategy devised by the Complementary Joint Research Plans fund, which is coordinated in Catalonia through ICFO, ALBA Synchrotron, IBEC, and IFAE.

Participants: Pol Vouillamoz, Lluís Calvo, Mireia Casanyes, Anna Aguilar-Amat, Joan Duran i Ferrer