Science fiction fan Dan Byrne-Smith – a senior lecturer in Fine Art Theory at Chelsea College of Arts – has become the first art, design and natural history fellow at the Horniman Museum, London. During his fellowship, he’ll be exploring themes such as the biodiversity crisis and species extinction, evolution and non-human networks.
When did your sci-fi interest begin?
My first encounters were through comics, in particular one called 2000AD. The Hollywood vision of benign space adventure occurred after I first took interest.
I’m aiming to engage people interested in fun-based sci-fi with some of the serious issues the genre picks up on. Many of them have grown up in a media environment that’s convinced them the worst has already happened, which is gloomy and disempowering. The latest Star Trek films, for example, are all about Spock punching bad guys while the first two series concentrated on the Earth being a better world through being part of a federation that actively solved problems.
Sci-fi and specimens – isn’t it a bit Day of the Triffids?
I’m interested in how the ways we think about sci-fi and natural history emerged almost in parallel in the 19th century. HG Wells wanted to become a scientist but realised his aim was pointless unless he could communicate his findings to an audience. Similarly, I’m interested in the taxidermist Edward Hart’s dioramas, which the Horniman Museum has good examples of. The specimens are posed in lifelike positions in front of painted backgrounds that echo the animals’ natural existence – Hart created virtual worlds, an idea that later dominated science fiction writing. Another part of my fellowship is, perhaps, saying the things museums can’t say, so I’ll also explore people’s discomfort with stuffing animals as a contemporary art form.
What might the future hold for museums?
While we now have museums with taxidermied animals we took for granted, we might soon have collections that reflect 20th-century society’s obsession with amassing stuff, buildings full of smart phones and consumerism. We’re going to have to think very hard about what to keep.
Just how deeply do you engage in sci-fi?
My son and I once dressed up as Groot and Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy. This was before the films were famous and some people just thought I was a tree-man.
The extent to which fan culture has become a politically contested field is fascinating; a lot of people get angry about how they perceive that the genre panders to certain groups – they feel that traditional sci-fi values aren’t necessarily represented anymore. For me, a female Thor is a small act of progress – Marvel controversially released the comic book Thor: Goddess of Thunder in 2015.
When did your sci-fi interest begin?
My first encounters were through comics, in particular one called 2000AD. The Hollywood vision of benign space adventure occurred after I first took interest.
I’m aiming to engage people interested in fun-based sci-fi with some of the serious issues the genre picks up on. Many of them have grown up in a media environment that’s convinced them the worst has already happened, which is gloomy and disempowering. The latest Star Trek films, for example, are all about Spock punching bad guys while the first two series concentrated on the Earth being a better world through being part of a federation that actively solved problems.
Sci-fi and specimens – isn’t it a bit Day of the Triffids?
I’m interested in how the ways we think about sci-fi and natural history emerged almost in parallel in the 19th century. HG Wells wanted to become a scientist but realised his aim was pointless unless he could communicate his findings to an audience. Similarly, I’m interested in the taxidermist Edward Hart’s dioramas, which the Horniman Museum has good examples of. The specimens are posed in lifelike positions in front of painted backgrounds that echo the animals’ natural existence – Hart created virtual worlds, an idea that later dominated science fiction writing. Another part of my fellowship is, perhaps, saying the things museums can’t say, so I’ll also explore people’s discomfort with stuffing animals as a contemporary art form.
What might the future hold for museums?
While we now have museums with taxidermied animals we took for granted, we might soon have collections that reflect 20th-century society’s obsession with amassing stuff, buildings full of smart phones and consumerism. We’re going to have to think very hard about what to keep.
Just how deeply do you engage in sci-fi?
My son and I once dressed up as Groot and Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy. This was before the films were famous and some people just thought I was a tree-man.
The extent to which fan culture has become a politically contested field is fascinating; a lot of people get angry about how they perceive that the genre panders to certain groups – they feel that traditional sci-fi values aren’t necessarily represented anymore. For me, a female Thor is a small act of progress – Marvel controversially released the comic book Thor: Goddess of Thunder in 2015.
