OPEN CALL: Science Gallery Dublin is seeking proposals for up to 20 works for FAKE, a free exhibition that asks if life is better when we embrace the artificial. 

From fake meat to fake emotions, if faking it gets the job done, who cares?

In both the natural world and human society, faking, mimicking, and copying can be a reliable strategy for success. When the focus is on how things appear, a fake may be just as valuable as the real thing. But what about faking taste, emotions, chemical signatures, facts and trademarks? Have patents, politics, and art given copying a bad name?

Fake designer handbags attract customers while fake eyes on insects scare off potential predators. From biomimicry to forged documents, from scandals to substitutes, we’ll ask when is authenticity essential, when is copying cool, and what is the boundary between a fakery faux-pas and a really fantastic FAKE.

Potential directions and topics

• 'Fake' foods and imitation meat


• Deception in nature: organisms that imitate, or disguise themselves to appear like a different organism, cell, a different sex, etc.


• Artificial alternatives


• Biology in augmented contexts: lab-grown meat, cyborg insects


• Robotic biomimicry


• Museum replicas


• Behavioural science, psychology, emotional fakery


• Artificial replacements for unsustainable/endangered biology (e.g. artificial rhino horn, engineered wood, etc)


• Ambiguous artworks, especially biological works that have an authenticity that is difficult or impossible to prove


• Irreproducible results, scientific hoaxes


• De-extinction proxies


• Works that examine the different social standards of truth/reliability with regards to artistic work and scientific work


• Substitutions, alternatives, and fakes that fake without deceiving


• Synthetic alternatives inspired by nature (rubber, etc)


• Intentional vs unintentional fakes


• Perfect copies


• Fictional realities, Legal Fictions, etc. (for example, see Yuval Noah Harari's TED talk What explains the rise of humans?)


• Phantoms

Budget

Proposals may be new or existing works, and will be funded up to a maximum budget of €2800, which should include all artist fees, materials, equipment, shipping, travel etc. Please note that these are maximum amounts and we enthusiastically welcome proposals that come in below the maximum budget. We are happy to write letters of support for applicants seeking funding from elsewhere

Deadline for applications is 19th September, 17:00 Dublin time.

Science Gallery Dublin is a member of the Global Science Gallery Network, including partner galleries in Europe, India, Australia and the USA. The Global Science Gallery Network is a highly collaborative peer group of Science Gallery nodes located in leading cultural and technological hubs worldwide. As a powerful force at the forefront of the STEM to STEAM movement, the Network is connected by a shared mission to ignite curiosity and discovery where art and science collide –  leading to the emergence of a global, interdisciplinary network unlike any seen before.