Preservation of Bodies
"Preservation of Bodies" is an exhibition that emerged from deep science and art research and development at the University of Kansas while Emily Mulvaney held the title of “Lance Williams Art and Science Artist Resident and Lecturer.” From Fall 2024 to Spring 2025, Mulvaney conducted historical scientific research in Kansas and Missouri, worked alongside researchers in the KU Molecular Biosciences laboratory, and experimented with bioplastics as material in her studio. These endeavors inform this body of work, which include several sculptural pieces featuring bioplastics used as a placeholder for living beings, and works made in collaboration with a species of bacteria called Chromobacterium violaceum. The bacterial pieces observe cell-to-cell communication, or quorum sensing, through pigment-shifting agar screens that are preserved in vacuum sealed bags.
In this debut solo exhibition, Mulvaney explores the procedures and materials used in the laboratory to preserve, maintain, and archive specimens and other nonhumans. She investigates the history and ethics of such practices, asking whether we can expand or introduce new ways of halting degradation. Through her work, Mulvaney questions if true preservation exists, and whether fragments of a being can sufficiently represent its entirety.
Emily Mulvaney
Emily Mulvaney (she/her) is an interdisciplinary sculptor from Minnesota. She received her BFA from NDSU in 2019 and her MFA from UMT in 2024. She was the 2024-2025 Lance Williams Art and Science Artist-in-Residence and Lecturer at the University of Kansas. While at KU, she created and organized Gathering: a queer ecologies symposium, a one-night event dedicated to discussing the emergent field of Queer Ecology. Mulvaney has exhibited nationally and has work in private and public collections, including the Montana Museum of Art and Culture. She will be an Artist-in-Residence at The Vermont Studio Center in February 2026.
Bacterial Languages
Come join us for an invigorating evening of bacterium-fueled dialogue led by Josie Chandler (Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas) and Eryk Jozef Yarkosky (Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, University of Kansas) on Tuesday, October 21st at 6 P.M. at Off-Site Art Space as a part of the programming for Preservation of Bodies (on view through October 25th).Eryk Jozef Yarkosky will present his research on cellular communication systems and quorum sensing, while chronicling the collaborative efforts between himself Emily Mulvaney that fostered the work in Preservation of Bodies. Josie Chandler will tell a thrilling tale about the contemporary field of microbiology and discuss the importance of research and funding in the sciences.
In this debut solo exhibition, Mulvaney explores the procedures and materials used in the laboratory to preserve, maintain, and archive specimens and other nonhumans. She investigates the history and ethics of such practices, asking whether we can expand or introduce new ways of halting degradation. Through her work, Mulvaney questions if true preservation exists, and whether fragments of a being can sufficiently represent its entirety.
