Lucy Kimbell

Lucy Kimbell Rat Fair/ One Night with Rats in the Service of Art a drawing created by a rat using tracking software (2005)

Kimbell describes herself as working in social sci-art, her work is heavily researched and incorporates science, art and societies views. Her first work to include the use of animals was One Night with Rats in the Service of Art, an art event with activities and interactive installations designed for rats and humans to take part in such as the activity 'is your rat an artist?' in which rat's movements were mapped as shown above to create drawings and then judged as drawings in a competition.

To create this event, Kimbell learned objectively about the perspectives of rats from vermin to beloved pets. She attended animals rights rallys, met with scientists working with lab rats and talked to rat breeders. All of these interactions informed her project with the aim to make something that was inclusive for everyone and that everyone could learn from. This education aspect and engaging with society interactively are really interesting to me as engaging qualities that I would like to research further in order for ways to engage an audience with my own work.