Art and poetry

Inspirations from the past

some of the key influencesillustrating Martin Johnson's career.

Session 1 poem - Inversnaid

by Gerard Manley Hopkins [1844-1889] read by Carl Spencer. This poem is one that I love for its expression of sentiments about the wilderness, but also I see the brook as offering a hopeful imagery of life’s thread.

Recent works from Another day lost

a series of art installations across five sites in London, inspired by and based on the Syrian refugee crisis, by Syrian-born, UK-based artist, Issam Kourbaj.Issam has worked in Christ’s for the past 17 years, and since the start of the Syrian conflict has raised, through his artwork, considerable sums of money to help the many women and children displaced by the war in Syria

Session 2 poem - The Piano

poem by DH Lawrence (1885-1930) read by Mike Roberts. A beautiful and sad poem about memories of Motherhood.

Outside in - Works by Issam Kourbaj

taken from his exhibition Intimate Distances, which uses a camera obscura to project the inverted image of the outside of Christ’s College on to various internal rooms

Session 3 poem - Naming of Parts

poem by Herbert Read (1893-1968) read by Mick Hastings. A bitter sweet poem about the first world war that contrasts dry precise language [of science?] with the language of imagination [of science?]

Inside Out

Works by Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684), a Dutch Golden Age painter, famous for his images of quiet domestic scenes with an open doorway, which allows the viewer to see outside. (images not shown)

Session 4 poem - Warning to Children

poem by Robert Graves (1895-1985) read by Hester Goddard. This poem I used in my PhD thesis as it seems to capture wonderfully the never-ending and delightful process of scientific inquiry.

Audience