GROUNDTRUTH The Art of Science

The Lapworth Museum's new temporary exhibition explores anthropogenic impacts on the environment such as mining, synthetic chemicals and coastal erosion, through a series of thought-provoking artworks by Dr Rick Greswell.

Artist statement

My practice explores a fundamental question: How may we help bridge the gap between scientific evidence and human perception? I seek to use art to make more tangible, more visceral, issues from pollutant persistence to habitat collapse that are otherwise imperceptible or too complex for us to easily grasp.

After a career in science as a Research Hydrogeologist at the University of Birmingham, I transitioned to art and photography to find new ways of communicating environmental issues and existential threat to a wide audience. While science vitally defines the objective reality of cause and effect, art can offer wider awareness of environmental risks to promote understanding, and perhaps more importantly, a perception of the scale and importance.

To do this, I draw on my growing interest in neuroscience. I am fascinated by how our brains process sensory information to create memories of experiences in which meanings are an intrinsic component. With insight to the mechanisms of perception, I use multimedia and materials with the aim of creating persuasive and visceral imprints that remain long after visitors leave the gallery.

The pieces in this exhibition are built on evidence. In Our Forevers, I use photographs of everyday products in water-filled jars to represent the ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) they contain that now permeate our global water supplies. In Acid, Mine, I portray the contamination from the ‘toxic soup’ of heavy metals left behind by abandoned mines. From the disappearing cliffs of Happisburgh to the silent loss of our bird populations, my artistic intent is to communicate these issues and leave an impression that literally changes the mind of a viewer.

Dr Rick Greswell

About Dr Rick Greswell

Following work in laboratory research and software engineering, which culminated with a 20-year period in postdoctoral work at the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Birmingham, Rick's practice has evolved from the technical and experimental investigation of solute and particulate transport in porous media to a visual exploration of natural systems threatened by human-related activity.

Rick's interest in bridging the art-science divide began when he undertook BA Photography, MA Fine Art and then MA Photography degrees at Hereford College of Arts. Rick utilised his scientific background to address existential anthropogenic threats through representation in art. His recent MA projects focused specifically on the biosphere and the escalating global water crisis, translating complex environmental data into a compelling visual discourse on water quality under threat.

Rick is particularly interested in ways of persuasively communicating complex processes and concepts to a wide audience using multimedia and interactive works of installation that promote a desire to protect the environment.

This exhibition brings together selected recent works highlighting anthropogenic impacts on the environment.

Gallery Exhibitions

2017. Where Land Meets Sea – A photographic exploration of the geology of our coastline. Lapworth Museum, University of Birmingham.

March 2022. ‘Viable’ - Post graduate exhibition, Stryx, Digbeth, Birmingham.

May 2022. ‘Soundwalk’, interactive geofenced experience, Carding Mill Valley, Shropshire.

July 2022 ‘Manifest’ Sounds of the Anthropocene - Canwood Gallery, Herefordshire.

March-September 2023, The Rodd, Sydney Nolan Trust, Herefordshire

February 2025, In Space, Escaping two-dimensionality in photography - Bloom.Space, Hereford

July 2025 ‘The Space Between Us’- Canwood Gallery, Herefordshire.

March-September 2026. GROUNDTRUTH The Art of Science Lapworth Museum, University of Birmingham.