Art and science collaboration: Transforming environmental data into art with Nigel Helyer

In this interview, artist Nigel Helyer shares the creative and technical processes behind BioSphere | DataSphere, a series of works based on environmental data from the Tasman Fracture Marine Park. The project is a collaborative research effort involving the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, the Australian Antarctic Division, and CSIRO. Based in Australia, Nigel is an internationally renowned sculptor and sound artist known for creating large-scale sound sculptures, environmental public artworks, and media installations that explore the intersection of poetics and technics. Working closely with scientists, Nigel transformed complex datasets—like sea temperatures, underwater sounds, and DNA sequences—into physical and auditory forms that reveal the hidden rhythms of the marine world.

Listen to this podcast to learn about:

• How Nigel translated scientific data into a range of sensory art forms, from 3D-printed sculptures to soundscapes.
• The unique challenges and insights of working in art-science collaboration.
• The role of art in making scientific data accessible, helping audiences engage emotionally with environmental issues.

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Highlights

• (00:06:00) Art and Science collaboration in marine environmental projects
• (00:02:45) Transforming scientific data into art through 3D printing
• (00:09:15) Art and Science: finding utility and philosophical connection
• (00:10:51) Navigating collaboration 
• (00:15:55) Art and Science: a respectful division of creativity
• (00:21:23) Learning code to transform data into musical art
• (00:26:26) Building successful art-science collaborations through personal connections 

About Nigel Helyer 

Nigel Helyer is an internationally acclaimed sculptor and sound artist based in Australia, known for creating immersive sound sculptures, environmental public artworks, and interactive media installations that connect art, science, and technology. His practice is deeply interdisciplinary, frequently collaborating with scientific institutions on projects that use bio-logging, GIS techniques, and acoustic mapping to transform complex data into sensory experiences.    

With a career spanning groundbreaking works like GeneMusiK and Host, Nigel has served as Artistic Director for large-scale projects such as The LifeBoat Project and has collaborated with leading institutions like the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland and the Tropical Marine Research Labs in Singapore. As a visiting professor at institutions worldwide, he contributes to the art-science field with a focus on innovative research and audience engagement.

Key Takeaways from this interview with Nigel Helyer 

Translating data into art

BioSphere | DataSphere, a series of works created with scientists studying the Tasman Fracture Marine Park, they translate environmental data into visual and auditory forms. Nigel utilised methods like 3D printing, laser cutting, and sound to bring this data to life.

“Almost everything in the gallery is produced from spreadsheets with just numbers… scientific research data that’s been transformed into either physical forms, images, or sound.”

Bridging art and science

Nigel shares insights into the collaborative process, highlighting the importance of respecting each discipline's strengths to foster innovation.

“Scientists know what they do best, and artists know what they do best. When both sides value that, you create a dynamic where real collaboration happens.”

Adapting to remote work

Nigel reflected on the challenges of managing a collaborative project from afar.

“If you’re local and in the team… it would have been 1,000% easier. I had quite a bit of anxiety about what I’ve done… whether I’ve hit the nail on the head or not.”

Learning new technical skills

For BioSphere | DataSphere, Nigel took on unfamiliar technical processes, such as coding in Python and using AutoCAD, to directly translate data into art. This experience gave him new insights and independence in creating the series.

“The most harrowing thing for me was to learn how to code... but I slogged through that.”

Advice

Nigel believes that building genuine relationships within a collaborative team is crucial, especially in cross-disciplinary projects. Meaningful connections enhance communication and understanding between artists and scientists.

“It’s so much easier to work with someone who you have a good, friendly, personal relationship with and a mutual enjoyment of the relationship.

Links from the podcast  

• Visit Nigel Helyer’s website
• Discover more about BioSphere|DataSphere 
• Learn more about the Tasman Fracture Marine Park Research Project
  
• Read about the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) in Hobart

Transcript of this interview with Nigel Helyer

How artists turn scientific data into art

Robin Petterd: As someone visits the gallery to see this particular body of work, what do they see?

Nigel Helyer: I think the first thing they’ll notice are the forms, shapes, and images. They might try to relate them to biological or environmental processes. Some of the larger pieces hanging from the ceiling may remind people of marine creatures—maybe jellyfish or medusas. But in reality, almost everything in the gallery is produced from spreadsheets.

It’s just numbers—thousands of rows of data, like temperature readings or DNA codons. That’s why it’s called BioSphere | DataSphere. The work transforms scientific research data into physical forms, images, or sound.

Robin Petterd: Did this data come from a larger scientific research project?

Nigel Helyer: Yes. It was part of a two-year commission from Parks Australia, focusing on the Tasman Fracture Marine Park—a 43,000-square-kilometre stretch of water and islands off Tasmania’s southern coastline. Little research had been done on the productivity of the area, so this was a baseline study involving multiple groups looking at various biological and oceanographic aspects.

I was embedded in the research team to synthesise something creative from the data. While the scientific analysis will take months or years to complete, my role was to translate raw data into something tangible.

Robin Petterd: That baseline research also suggests it will need to be repeated in the future.

Nigel Helyer: Hopefully, yes. It’s a wild and remote area—logistically challenging and expensive to access. The weather is often unpredictable. The region even has Australia’s southernmost lighthouse on Maatsuyker Island, where two people report the weather daily.

I went on a field trip there, and we had to leave early because the helicopter company warned, “If you don’t leave tomorrow, you’ll be stuck for two weeks.” We’d have run out of food! It’s that kind of place.

What makes art and science collaboration work

Robin Petterd: It seems like you’ve explored multiple threads from the data to create both audio and physical forms. Is working with ceramics new for you?

Nigel Helyer: Actually, 3D printing is new to me. The jellyfish-like series comes from marine monitoring buoys. I worked with large spreadsheets of weekly data packets and decided to represent that data as a kind of clock. Normally, you only see two variables at a time in a graph.

Instead, I turned the data into laser-cut forms and 3D-printed objects in black nylon and liquid ceramic. Ceramics were especially challenging. With support from the University of Tasmania School of Creative Arts, we spent a week experimenting. A few exploded, but we managed to create small ceramic pieces, each representing a week of analysed data. Many of the objects have protrusions—“horns”—at about 180 degrees from each other. These represent the dawn and dusk choruses, when marine life is most vocally active. Seeing sound energy as a physical shape made those rhythms incredibly clear.

Robin Petterd: Did the scientific researchers see things in your work that they hadn’t noticed before?

Nigel Helyer: They haven’t seen the pieces yet! The show opens Monday, so I’m a bit nervous. I hope they find it interesting.

That’s part of the uncertainty with art-science collaborations. You don’t know if your work will have practical utility or simply provoke philosophical questions. Ideally, it does both.

Robin Petterd: That balance is exciting—it’s data-driven and visually compelling, while still functioning as art.

Nigel Helyer: Exactly. Otherwise, it risks being dry. In the show text, I reference Jean Cocteau’s 1918 phrase: La science fait chair—“Art is science embodied.” It’s about making scientific findings tangible—giving them a body.

Tools and skills artists use to visualise data

Robin Petterd: When you started this project, what was the first step?

Nigel Helyer: Finding someone to talk to. The project was massive, with many moving parts, and I wasn’t local. So I introduced myself and tried to spark conversations.

Initially, it was a bit random. I connected with people I clicked with or who had time to engage. Eventually, I built ongoing relationships with four key collaborators—each corresponding to one of the project’s main areas. I worked pragmatically. Weather, distance, and timing meant I missed some field trips. In the end, I focused on the relationships I had, and they were really valuable.

Robin Petterd: Media art often relies on collaboration. These relationships—especially with scientists—sound quite different.

Nigel Helyer: They are. I’ve done a few projects as an embedded artist in research institutions. At the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, my first meetings were an hour long. By the third meeting, they were down to 20 minutes, then 10. Scientists are under pressure. If your collaboration doesn’t yield results quickly, they don’t have time for it.

In Sydney, I spent over two years working with a water research lab. There, scientists were billed out in 15-minute intervals. It made the relationship more transactional—I’d request data or resources, do my work, and check back when needed.

Robin Petterd: That transactional model sounds familiar from film work—everyone has a very defined role.

Nigel Helyer: Exactly. I have a friend who’s a sound editor. I assumed she handled all the audio, but her role is extremely specific. The division of labour is intense.

Making scientific knowledge public through art

But in most of these collaborations, there’s mutual respect. Scientists know their field, and artists know theirs. Problems only arise when one side thinks they can do the other’s job. The disciplines are different, but they share a focus on creating new knowledge and communicating it.

Robin Petterd: And experimentation feels like a shared value, too. Sometimes I wonder whether art schools belong in science faculties.

Nigel Helyer: Good luck pitching that! But yes, imagination and creativity aren’t exclusive to any one field. They’re fundamental human qualities.

Robin Petterd: You mentioned challenges earlier. What was the biggest one?

Nigel Helyer: Distance. I often joke that in Tasmania, if you leave the island, people think you’ve vanished—like object permanence in toddlers!

Being local would’ve made everything simpler. I still worry whether I’ve done justice to the data. I hope the scientists find it worthwhile. Without daily interaction, doubts creep in. It’s not disastrous, but you always wonder if you’ve hit the mark.

Challenges of site-specific environmental art

Robin Petterd: Did you prototype these pieces?

Nigel Helyer: No. The biggest hurdle for me was learning to code. I’d always outsourced that, but for this project, I had to learn Python. I needed to convert data—like temperature readings or DNA sequences—into musical scores: numbers into values, values into notes, notes into scores.

I even used ChatGPT to help debug. I’d paste in code and ask, “What’s wrong here?” It was surprisingly effective. I also learned how to use 3D and ceramic printing. Many things could’ve gone wrong—and did—but I got through it and learned a lot.

Robin Petterd: It’s interesting how coding shifts collaboration—it’s no longer as transactional once you understand the process.

Nigel Helyer: Exactly. You don’t need to be an expert, but you need enough fluency to have a meaningful conversation. Collaboration thrives at the intersection of mutual respect and helpfulness—that’s where real work happens.

Robin Petterd: To finish, what’s your advice for artists interested in art-science collaborations?

Nigel Helyer: Steve Kurtz of the Critical Art Ensemble said, “Go make friends with a scientist.” It’s flippant, but true. The best collaborations start with shared curiosity and trust.

At the Paul Scherrer Institute, I eventually connected with the head of the cyclotron, who was also a musician. He became a mentor and helped guide the project when my initial idea fell through. Those kinds of relationships are essential.