A PAINTING commissioned by Nycomed Amersham became the focus of a discussion last month between the company and local schools on how science can be portrayed through art.

School children were invited to Nycomed Amersham's head office in Little Chalfont as part of National Science Week. The event centred on In'Sight, a large illuminated painting by artist Ivan Riches, which aims to visually reflect the company's work in science and technology.

Sir William Castell, chief executive of Nycomed Amersham, first came across Ivan's work through his links with the Tate Gallery. He believed this could be a perfect way of achieving visually an explanation of what the company's products and technologies do.

In February 1999 Nycomed Amersham commissioned Ivan to create a series of works to depict the company's principal business areas of diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and genomics and life sciences.

Ivan spent six months working in residence on the In'Sight painting and the triptychs which make up the Images of Inner Space. The triptychs each measure about 50 x 35cm and depict the diagnostic imaging technologies and their potential. They are now on display at Nycomed's head office.

In'Sight (Inner Sight), pictured right, has been designed to bring together the two major activities of the company's business diagnostic imaging and life sciences into one pictorially.

The first is drawn on a silk surface and the second is painted on a second surface back mounted on a light box. The lighting is faded in and out, giving the effect of looking through the skin into the inner most unseen workings of the body.

Teachers and sixth form science and art students from Chesham High School, The Amersham School and Holmer Green Upper School took part in the event when scientists from the company described their work and how science itself depends on metaphors. Ivan explained how he was inspired to interpret complex science into a visual presentation.

Ivan has been a professional artist since graduating in 1988 with an MA in Fine Art from Birmingham Polytechnic.

His work has been featured widely in group exhibitions in Britain and he has held a number of solo exhibitions in London.

He said his work at Nycomed Amersham was partly influenced by drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Gray's Anatomy and images of space from the Hubble Telescope.