Dr Gemma Anderson-Tempini

Gemma’s interdisciplinary project brings together art, science and philosophy to explore breastfeeding as a dynamic, living process connecting parent and infant. Drawing is central to the project as a form of epistemology, a way of generating knowledge rather than simply illustrating it. Working in collaboration with two UK lactation research labs, she will create scientifically informed artworks that visualise lactation biology across multiple scales, grounded in drawings of her own lived experience. Alongside this, she is developing a process ontology of breastfeeding. The project aims to reframe breastfeeding as a complex, relational process rather than a simple transfer of milk, to address gaps in its visual culture, and to extend her collaborative Drawing Labs methodology into health contexts.

Gemma returns to research after a four-year break, following her role as Co-Investigator on the AHRC-funded project Representing Biology as Process at the University of Exeter, during which time she became a parent of twins. During her Fellowship, she plans to deepen her knowledge of lactation biology and develop new skills in qualitative and shame-sensitive research methods.