Talking Points

Talking Points are a stunning series of thought-provoking exhibits scattered throughout the Ground Floor of the Science Museum’s Wellcome Wing. Beautiful, awe-inspiring or controversial, they raise questions about the influence modern science is having on us and the world we live in.

Talking Points has numerous contemporary art pieces created by leading artists. Marc Quinn's 'Eternal Spring (Sunflowers) II' comprises a vase of sunflowers immersed in frozen liquid silicone. The flowers have a hyper-real quality – although they appear to be freshly cut, they are in fact artificially preserved. The work explores questions raised by recent advances in genetic engineering such as: 'What is natural and what is perfect?'

Take the escalator to the IMAX™ Theatre to activate Darrell Viner's 'Is tall better than small?’. This pneumatically-driven interactive work reacts to the heights of visitors, moving up and down as they travel the escalator, reflecting the relationship between human ideals and the standardisation apparently possible through contemporary genetic engineering.

Talking Points is also home to a number of unusual and intriguing pieces including a crashed Formula One car demonstrating that although improvements in racing car design have led to greater speed and performance, they have also produced safer cars.