Dr Catherine Baker

Associate Professor

Birmingham School of Art

Email:: Catherine.baker@bcu.ac.uk
Phone:: 0121 331 4304

Dr Catherine Baker studied Fine Art at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design followed by an MA in Drawing at Wimbledon School of Art, completing her PhD by Publication in 2012.

As a practising artist and researcher, she has lectured widely and participated in a number of international drawing initiatives including being invited to be International Artist-in-Residence at the prestigious National Art School in Sydney, Australia. Her contributions to publications on drawing and drawing research include books, journals, exhibitions and conference outputs. Her early research involved working within scientific domains with neuroscientists with whom she shared an interest in the neurobiology of the eye. Baker’s research involved investigating the active process of drawing as a physical and perceptual encounter, this work involved working with a vision scientist measuring eye movements. Her interest in this encounter as a phenomenological consideration developed as she investigated the relationship between the observer and the observed entity.

Baker continues to be concerned with the interface between Art and Science and is currently International Guest Editor with a colleague form the University of Bristol for Leonardo, the world-leading organisations for Art, science and Technology. After being invited to undertake a residency at a cutting-edge Clinical Research Imaging Centre in 2010 her research began to focus on interdisciplinary approaches that crossed into health and the geosciences. Her work has been widely exhibited, including; Australia, Italy, Germany, China and across the UK featuring in both art galleries and at major science festivals.

As a senior academic Baker has taught in a number of UK HEI’s, holding positions of leadership in both research and teaching practice. Central to her own research and her approach to learning is interdisciplinarity. Baker has worked across multiple disciplines throughout her career and is currently leading a project in Scotland working with a leading printmaking institution, horticulturalists, a human geographer and an award-winning paediatric spinal surgeon. This ambitious multi-partnered project signifies her ongoing awareness of the value and impact that researching across boundaries can provide. Amongst other outputs this work will be realised through two substantial exhibitions in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2020. Along with her project in Scotland where she is PI she is working with young music composers in Birmingham to develop an audio work using the sounds of diagnostic imaging processes to accompany recent film work involving patients.

Since 2015 she has worked closely with Kimberley Foster to form a collaborative drawing practice Inappropriate Collisions and a student-centred drawing programme The Drawing Exchange. This partnership allows for an ongoing critical questioning of drawing practices and the boundaries of collaborative practice and instruction.

Current Activity

Areas of Expertise

Qualifications

Memberships

Teaching

Postgraduate Supervision

Publications

Solo Exhibitions:

10.2020 - Castle Mill Works, Edinburgh, Scotland

2019/20 - Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

2016 - Under the Skin, Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge, UK
Exhibition and public facing events were part of the 2016 Cambridge University Science Festival

2010 - Drawing Connections, Milton Keynes Gallery, UK

2008 - Scanpath, Bracknell Gallery, South Hill Park Arts Centre, Berks, UK

2007 - Scanpath - Space 4 Gallery, Peterborough Art Gallery & Museum, UK

2005 - Saccades & Fixations, The Hat Factory, Luton, UK

2004 - fabulous confabulations, Leeds Met Gallery, Leeds, UK

Group Exhibitions:

2018 - You and I are discontinuous beings, International Project Space, Birmingham, UK

2018 - NN Contemporary, Northampton, UK

2016 - Dark Side of LightNight, Duke Street Collective, Liverpool LightNight Festival

2016 - La Cura Festival, Bologne, Italy

2015 - Drawing Conversations, Coventry University (collaboration with K. Foster)

2015 - Impact 9, China Academy of Arts, Hangzhou, China, CN

2014/5 - Eastern Approaches, UH Galleries, St. Albans, UK

2014 - Anonyme Zeichner, Pavillon am Milchhof, Berlin, DE

2013/4 - Group show, NN Contemporary, Northampton, UK

2013 - Impact 8, University of Dundee, Scotland. UK

2012 - Galleria Aus18, Milan, Italy, IT

2012 - Eastern Approaches, UH Galleries, St. Albans, UK

2010 - All over the place: Drawing Place, Drawing Space, Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds, UK

2010 - Bristol Neuroscience Festival, University of Bristol, UK

2010 - Drawing Out Festival of Drawing, RMIT, Australia

2008 - Triptych –papers, the Project space, Norwich, UK

2008 - All over the place : Drawing Place, Drawing Space
University of the West of England / Land2 research group

2008 - Drawing in the title, Norwich Gallery - Curated by Lynda Morris

2006 - Snap, UCL, London, UK

2006 - Drawing in Motion, Bury St Edmunds Gallery, Suffolk, UK

2005/6 - Jerwood Drawing Prize, multiple venues, UK

2005 - East 05. Norwich Gallery, UK

2005 - Mostyn Open, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales, UK

Residencies

2019 - Edinburgh Printmakers, Scotland, UK. Print residency, (invited)

2015 - Shortlisted Artist – National Botanic Gardens Wales, Flora Residency with Oriel Davies

2011 - International Artist in Residence, National Art School, Sydney, Australia (invited)

2010 - Drawing Connections, Project Space, Milton Keynes Gallery, UK

2011 - CRIC Artist in Residence, Clinical Research Imaging Centre, Bristol, UK (invited). Joint venture between: University of Bristol, NH Trust, Wolfson Brain Imaging

Recent Awards/ Nominations:

2018 - Featured Artist a-n The Artists Information Company, https://www.instagram.com/anartistsinfo/

2016 - Professional Development Bursary, a-n The Artists Information Company

2015 - Double Award Winner, Eastern Approaches, UH Arts

2011 - CRIC Artist-in-Residence unveiling – Sir Robert Winston

2010 - Faculty Teaching Award, Norwich University of the Arts

Publications:

Baker, C. (2018) Waiting with Cancer, Leonardo special issue (under review)

Baker, C. & Gilchrist, I.D. Eds (under development). Professional Strangers: Collaborative Interface Art & Science, ebook proposal Leonardo/MIT Press

Baker, C. & Foster, K. (2017). Chapter: Inappropriate Shift. Drawing Conversations: Collective and Collaborative Drawing in Contemporary Practice, (Eds) Gorrill, H & Journeaux, J. Cambridge Scholars Publication. ISBN (13):978-15275-0347-2

Baker, C. 2012. Note Bene, Double blind peer-reviewed conference paper, Drawn Out International Drawing Conference 2012, RMIT, Australia and UAL, London. Online.

Baker, C. 2010. Tracing the Physical, peer-reviewed paper, Studies in Material Thinking, Vol 4 International Research Journal, Massey University, NZ

Baker, C. 2010. Metaphorical Marks, double blind peer-reviewed paper, Drawing Out - International Drawing Conference and Festival, RMIT, Australia, ISBN 978-0-646-53254-7

Baker, C. 2009. All over the Place: Drawing Place, Drawing Space, published by The Caseroom Press, ISBN 978-1-905821-14-3, LAND2 Research Group.

Baker, C. & Gilchrist I.D 2008. Seeing…Vision & Perception in a Digital Culture, International Conference Paper and online publication, CHArt, Birbeck & Kings College, London. ISSN 1742 – 3376

Baker, C. 2007. SCANPATH, Solo Exhibition catalogue, Published by The Space 4 Gallery, UK ISBN 0-905952-04-9

Baker, C. 2005. Jerwood Drawing Prize, Int. Group Exhibition catalogue, ISBN 0-948327-20-1

Baker, C. 2005. Mostyn 2005, Int. Group Exhibition catalogue. Published by Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Wales. ISBN 0-906860-58X

Baker, C. 2005. fabulous confabulations. Exhibition catalogue, published by Leeds Met Gallery. ISBN 0-9548413-0-1

Recent Conference Papers/Talks:

2020 - BackBone (Lead), International Conference at the Conference Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, UK. Under discussion and development

2017 - Invited speaker for Saimaa Calling. Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Lappeenranta, Finland

2016 - Drawing Conference, International Journal of Art and Design Conference (iJade), University of Chester, Riverside Innovation Centre (RIC), Inappropriate Collisions, co-presenter with K. Foster.

2016 - Under the Skin, Public Talk as part of University of Cambridge Science Festival with Professor Iain Gilchrist, University of Bristol.

2015 - Drawing Conversations: reflecting upon collective and collaborative drawing practices symposium, University of Coventry, co-presenter with K. Foster (closing keynote)

2015 - Ways of Seeing, Guest Public Lecture, Edinburgh Printmakers This invitation was part of their Ways of Seeing series of lectures named after Berger’s seminal text.

2014 - Negotiated Practice (Lead), CREST Consortium for Research Excellence, Support & Training, London (2014), Being Human, Festival of Humanities, AHRC / British Academy, London School of Advanced Studies. Conference was financially supported by CREST and included presentations by Baker & Gilchrist, Chubb (Chichester) & Moore (Brighton) and was chaired by Bronac Ferran.