Scientific Misconduct exhibit at Bio26 Biennial of Design

Update: One of the photo collages on Burak’s exhibit was taken from Leonid Schneider’s website For Better Science, i.e. this post reporting on a misconduct investigation of papers by Karin Dahlman-Wright. The artist has acknowledged Leonid’s work at the exhibition.

This is really cool. Burak Korkmaz, who works in communication design and infographics, attended me to his exhibit at the Bio26 Biennial of Design in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Burak’s exhibit is called “Scientific Misconduct: Who cures cancer in photoshop?”

On his website ScientificMisconduct.eu, Burak writes “The fabrication of research data … hits at the heart of our responsibility to society, the reputation of our institution, the trust between the public and the biomedical research community, and personal credibility and that of our scientific workforce, institutions and research practices…”.

The Biennial of Design (BIO) in Ljubljana is one of the world’s oldest international design events, founded in 1963, and held (duh!) ever two years.

The website of the 26th Biennial of Design explains: “Under the motto Common Knowledge, this year’s Biennial of Design tackles the information crisis. BIO 26 will present six winning projects selected through the Designathon in which groups of designers and non-designers took on the challenges pressing on the institutions of knowledge production and knowledge transmission. The projects will be presented at the 26th Biennial of Design, BIO 26 – Common Knowledge, which will take place between 14 November 2019 and 9 February 2020 in Ljubljana.”

I especially liked this section: “Together, science, academia, the media, and journalism have been considered the four pillars of truth of western society since the Enlightenment. In times of widespread misinformation, fake news, post-truth, and alternative facts, these same institutions might also be unjustly accused of being pillars of deceit. It is important to remember that one of the major issues of the information crisis concerns “truth” and reliable facts. The problem is founded less on the ability to get people to believe the wrong thing as it is on the ability to get people to doubt the right thing. As a result, these institutions are being shaken to their cores!”

It is fascinating to see the topic of science misconduct being transformed into a visual art display. It is a great way to bring this important topic to non-scientists.

If you happen to be in Ljubljana, Slovenia, please visit this exhibit. It will be open from 14 November 2019 – 9 February 2020.