Dreaming about molecules

A leather sofa, a pot plant and an illuminated globe. On Monday 6 November, the Noorderlicht Photogallery was transformed into a comfy living room. Against this intimate backdrop, Nobel Prize winner Ben Feringa and Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology Vincent Icke talked to each other, and a live audience, about the interaction between art and science. The discussion was part of the 24th edition of the Noorderlicht Photography Festival: ‘NUCLEUS – Imagining science’. The Photography Festival is being held at seven locations in Groningen, Eelde and Assen until 26 November.

Icke & Feringa and art & science soon turned out to be winning combinations. While Feringa described how, after a long day, he relaxes on the sofa and dreams about amazing molecules, Icke explained how he tries to combine art and science in his works of art. The scientists discovered a shared passion for water and had no trouble infecting the audience with their enthusiasm for what are usually very abstract subjects.

A playground for scientists and artists

In a lively discussion, which lasted an hour but could easily have continued all night, Icke and Feringa talked passionately about the role of science and art in society, keenly searching for overlaps between the two. Both scientists and the audience seemed to come to the same conclusion: artists and scientists are not as different as we might assume. Both fields spring from an inquiring mind and an urge to create something that didn’t exist before. The energy that Feringa generates when he makes something new with his students is reflected in his vision: ‘The University should be a playground for academics, a place where students feel free to make mistakes, experiment and venture into uncharted territory. Some experiments inevitably go wrong, but this is how you learn from your mistakes.’ Often with surprising results. As the audience remarked: ‘You could say that scientists are by definition also artists.’

About Ben Feringa

In 2016, Ben Feringa won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry together with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Sir Fraser Stoddart for research on molecular nanomotors. Feringa has been Professor of Organic Chemistry since 1988. He is one of best scientists around today, both in the Netherlands and the world. His research presentations are so exceptional that he is generally seen as one of the most creative and productive chemists in the world.

About Vincent Icke

Vincent Icke is Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at Leiden University, professor by special appointment at the University of Amsterdam and an artist. He makes regular guest appearances in television programmes such as God bestaat niet, Nieuwslicht and De Wereld Draait Door.

Nobel Symposium

The Molecular Machines Nobel Prize Symposium will also take place during the Noorderlicht Photography Festival, from 19 to 22 November.