Exhibition of molecules makes a novel departure for Gatwick
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
THIS is what one chemist visualises when she savours the smell of garlic, seasons her food, puts sugar in her tea and pours a jug of water.
These and other examples of "molecular art", which merge computer-generated pictures of molecules with their everyday settings, will go on display from today at the South Terminal in Gatwick's international departures lounge.
By the end of the month, around 800,000 people will have seen the Sense-ational! exhibition by Dr Cristina De Matteis, 34, of Bristol's Explore project. "Having this exhibition at Gatwick airport is fantastic because it will reach all sorts of people," she said.
Fed up with the pejorative connotations of the word "chemical", the Royal Society of Chemistry sponsored the exhibition to underline how everything - not just pollutants and toxins - is made of chemicals.
The images include one of a man scattering molecules of the sex hormone testosterone over the cleavage of a scantily clad woman, a model taking a sniff of 2-mercaptomethylfuran, one of the molecules that gives fresh coffee its aroma, and cubes of sodium chloride being scattered over tomatoes.
Surveys of attitudes reveal that a significant proportion of the public does not think chemicals contribute to the quality of life. "People don't seem to realise that chemicals are all around us and must contribute positively. You put sugar into your coffee and it's a chemical," said Dr De Matteis.
Another of her pictures shows a teacup with a picture of sugar molecules being dropped into it. Other pictures show lettuce, dyes, silk and water.
Dr De Matteis is a part-time lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Nottingham, where she conducts research into molecular modelling. For the exhibit, she merged computer-generated pictures of molecules with photographs of everyday objects to show the chemistry of life.
She was originally inspired by the beauty of molecular graphics and extended the idea to reveal the molecules in their real-world context.
"One of the aims of the project has been to take chemistry away from the ivory tower and into places where people are relaxing and enjoying themselves and don't expect to see science," she said.
Dr De Matteis used herself as a model for the more overpowering molecules - diallyl sulphide and thiopropionaldehyde-S-oxide, the first contributing to the smell of garlic and the second the component of onions that makes people cry.
"Those were taken at a stage when I didn't have a budget," she said.
Boards explaining the chemistry will deliberately not be placed next to the posters. "People don't like the language of chemistry ," she said, "so I deliberately put them some distance from the pictures."
