Miranda Lowe © Photo: Aimee McArdle / NHM London

In conjunction with the exhibition Sea Through Skin, artist Bianca Baldi is in conversation with Miranda Lowe, Principal Curator of Crustacea at the Natural History Museum, London.

The discussion focuses on Baldi’s engagement with the 19th-century glass models of marine invertebrates created by Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, exquisite objects that hover between specimen and sculpture. Through these fragile forms, Baldi and Lowe explore themes central to Sea Through Skin: the porous boundaries between art and science, the politics of observation, and how materials – glass, skin, pigment – can hold memory, history, and transformation.

The talk is held in English and is free to attend, though a valid ticket to Extra City is required. Visitors are welcome to view Bianca Baldi's exhibition beforehand.

About the speakers

Bianca Baldi is an artist exploring history, meaning, and knowledge production through narrative, fiction, and historical contexts. She studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art (Cape Town) and the Städelschule (Frankfurt). Her work has been shown internationally, including the MOMENTA Biennale de l’Image (Montreal), the 11th African Biennale of Photography (Bamako), and the 8th Berlin Biennale. Recent solo exhibitions include Sea Through Skin at Kunsthal Extra City (2025), Patina (2022), and Cameo (2021).

Miranda Lowe CBE is Principal Curator, natural historian, and marine invertebrate specialist at the Natural History Museum, London. She focuses on the politics of natural history display and the role of museums in shaping our understanding of the natural world. She was named on the BBC Radio Four Women’s Hour Power List (2020) and received the Society for the History of Natural History President’s Award (2021). She chairs Culture& and co-founded Museum Detox, a network supporting people of colour in museums and heritage sectors.