Since leaving the Royal college of Art in 1992, Dowson has made work using the body and anatomy, from casting head and neck cancer patients for Silent Stories to laser etching her cousins Brain Tumour into glass for Memory of a Brain Malformation. In 2014 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned her to make a work for Art of Saving a Life ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv4mf0KL1pk ) and she made A window to the future of an HIV Virus.
Katharine’s inspiration comes from nature, medicine and the scientific world as she often collaborates with scientists as part of her artistic practice. These include researchers investigating genetics, dyslexia and Parkinson’s disease, producing intricate casts of her own heart and brain from MRI scans.
Her sculptures are made in various media but especially transparent materials and glass, which she uses as a metaphor for a membrane, a fragile yet robust skin that allows light to pass through and reveal the hidden interior within.
Her work has been exhibited world wide and Collections include: The Wellcome Collection UK, The Arts Council Collection, Gift of Charles Saatchi, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation USA, The Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University. In 1992 Katharine’s work was bought by Charles Saatchi and is included in the book, Shark Infested Waters, one of the most celebrated collections of contemporary art in the world.
