“As the pub with the closest proximity to the University of Bristol Biochemistry Department, the Robin Hood on St. Michael’s Hill is fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be subjected to high concentrations of biochemists.
I’ve always believed that visual art is a great way to get people interested in and engaged with scientific discoveries. A great picture can be a far better way to get a concept across than words alone. After this year’s Research without Borders festival, the Robin Hood kindly agreed to put up the outreach poster I had designed for the event.
A couple of weeks later the pub’s manager, Ben, asked me if I would consider doing a biochemistry themed mural for the pub. The Robin Hood has lots of lovely walls were far too nice to ruin. However, he has clearly developed Stockholm Syndrome, and after years of an overwhelming biochemist presence wanted some artwork that represented the strong ties between his pub and the Biochemistry Department. Once I had ascertained that I was actually going to be allowed to paint on the walls, I got to planning.
As a heme protein biochemist, it seemed only fitting to have the classic hemoprotein horseradish peroxidase as the central object of the mural, it being a protein that is crucial to the survival of nearly all living things. Surrounding it are many different elements, that still only represent a fraction of the wide range of research themes found at Bristol. I’ve already had feedback from some researchers hinting at their latest work, so a second mural may be in order…
Many thanks to my supervisor Dr. Ross Anderson for letting me take the time to do the mural, and to the Bristol BioDesign Institute for helping fund some of the materials!”
by Claire Noble