Heike ‘Jane’ Zimmermann

Art Website: www.limnlines.com
Illustration Website: www.miucreative.com

Artist statement and bio

Heike ‘Jane’ Zimmermann is an illustrator and artist specialising in ecological science and fiction art through research-based art, science communication, storytelling, and fictional worldbuilding. Jane particularly enjoys using diverse media to draw attention to the small, frequently overlooked worlds that are essential to ecosystems across the planet.

Jane’s interest in the deep sea developed through her collaboration with the Norwegian Research Council INTPART-AKMA and the UArctic-funded EXTREMES project, which explored deep-sea environments in the Arctic Ocean. Here, she has worked with geoscientists and biologists to create artworks of deep-sea environments and biodiversity using pigments made from deep-sea sediment to strengthen the material and conceptual connection between her work and the natural world.

Additionally, Jane has ongoing collaborations across diverse scientific fields and the humanities to translate and transform research through engaging visual approaches, develop novel science education approaches and materials, and explore the intersections between artistic expression and the natural sciences.

The deep-sea biological sciences have a unique opportunity to generate knowledge, care, and appreciation for an ecosystem that is otherwise out of reach for the general public and policymakers alike. Combining this scientific potential with the arts is essential for exploring and interpreting the previously unknown and for transforming scientific knowledge and research into visual experiences that engage wider audiences.

Through her art, Jane aims not only to reflect scientific knowledge but also to evoke ecological awareness, curiosity, and empathy for the rich biodiversity of the deep.

Artworks

Foraminifera

Foraminifera are beautifully shaped, single-celled deep-sea organisms about the size of a grain of sand or even smaller. They are very sensitive to physical and chemical changes in their environment and are therefore ideal indicators of Earth’s paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic history. They can reveal sea levels, temperatures, and ocean conditions from millions of years ago.

Painted with self-made pigments and watercolours from deep sea sediment (collected during the Extremes Research Expedition led by Prof Giuliana Panieri from the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

Artwork size: 50 x 40 cm

Deep Sea Ocean Creatures

This becoming series of miniature artworks explores deep sea fauna, showcasing the complexity of life deep below the ocean`s surface.

Painted with self-made pigments and watercolours from deep sea sediment (collected during the Extremes Research Expedition led by Prof Giuliana Panieri from the Department of Geosciences at UiT The Arctic University of Norway)

Artwork size: 13 x 13 cm

Websites and other information

Jane is a member of the Norwegian Association of Illustrators (Tegnerforbundet), the Association of Norwegian Visual Artists (NBK), and the inaugural ArtScience working group of the EGU European Geosciences Union.

css.php