Claire McDermott
artist
Shubhangi Butta
researcher
On Wednesday, June 4th we were back upstairs at the at The Devereux Pub in London, hosting two speakers for your conversational pleasure.
First up we had Claire McDermott, an artist who works across multiple media and uses her observations of the natural world to explore biophysics, the environment and sustainability. For us she explored some extraordinary facts about the plant kingdom and how her interest in nature as an artist has built a bridge to the sciences.
Following Claire, Shubhangi Butta talked to us about plasticity in the brain and the paradox created by it. Shubhangi is fascinated by the relationship between neuroplasticity and social norms and the chicken-and-egg world of ‘nature’ versus ‘nurture’ in the shaping of human behaviour. She played with ideas, and kept the audience entertained as she fielded all sorts of questions about the brain, evolution and stereotyping.
What makes Tickbird&Rhino two-speaker evenings such a good time is never quite knowing how two different worlds overlap and Wednesday night was no exception. We had a great ideas from two very different worlds and they led us into an evening of inspiring thought and great conversation.
04Jun25
The Devereux / London
Based in London, Claire McDermott has an MA in Art & Science from Central Saint Martins and an MRes in Art & Humanities from the Royal College of Art. Her most recent exhibition was a solo exhibition at Headstone Manor and Museum (2024) and she has exhibited at Tate Exchange, UCLH, Cooke Latham Gallery, Beaconsfield Gallery, South Park Galleries and Safehouse 1&2. She has had residencies with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, ual:SLoAS, AA2A, Sculpture Symposium 2016 and Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Ireland, where her microscopic illustrations are held in their collection. Her public sculpture titled The Meeting Tree is installed in Newton Farm Ecology Park, London. She was featured in Phi Magazine, The Pluralist, and the Earthwise book while receiving in-kind support from the Port of London Authority, Central Saint Martins, UAL and grants from The Eaton Fund, Gane Trust, UAL Student Union and the Arts Council England.
web: Claire McDermott
According to Shubhangi Butta, reason and meaning come packaged as complimentary perks to our daily lives and yet they only come to our attention when we question their purpose. This reflection has led her to do the research she does, inspiring her journey into studying the cognitive processes that make us who we are. Having finished her Master's in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology at the University of Edinburgh, Shubhangi now works in product experience at Sensing Feeling, a company that develops real-time sensing solutions using deep neural networks (and the subject of one of Tickbird&Rhino's earliest talks way back in 2016).
linkedin: Shubhangi Butta
web: Sensing Feeling
image - Claire McDermott