Mary Yacoob - Artist-in-Residence, Centre for Integrative Anatomy, CDB

How did you arrive at CDB?   

My original undergrad study was in English & Politics, after which I was a secretary at the Royal College of Art, during which I thought: “I miss art, I want to do that”. So, I took some evening classes and, aged 27 years, I started a BA in Fine Art at London Metropolitan University and then a Masters at Central St Martins. 

Later, I became quite interested in looking at diagrams from textbooks or the internet, e.g.,  sound insulation diagrams. If you take these tiny diagrams out of context and apply an artistic process, they look completely different – more abstract and mysterious, even though the final artwork retains something of the original diagram’s energy and feel.  

For about 10 years I worked part-time at LSE and part-time as an artist, making and exhibiting art, and then I wanted a new challenge, so I decided to do a PhD at UCL. UCL was the perfect place as I wanted to work with scientists; there’s a massive breadth of sciences and there’s also the Slade School of Fine Art.  Importantly for me, UCL is really keen on interdisciplinary discussions. 

Up to then, I’d had sort of ‘virtual’ discussions with the creators of diagrams that I found online and in textbooks.  But I wanted to bring this into ‘reality’, so my PhD proposal was to have more interactive discussions with the scientists who make these diagrams.

What would you advise someone on choosing a career?

I would say to do what you enjoy and what you can do at the moment, and then you can always change your mind and rework it or go back or go on to other things. 

What are you mainly focused on now and for the future? 

Right now, I’m focused on my PhD at the Slade, of which my residency within a CDB Centre is an important part. 

Also, I have had a commission from The Faculty of Life Sciences’ running concurrently, on which I, and a panel of the scientists I have worked with, presented to UCL Alumni (on 01 July 2025 in the Sainsbury-Wellcome Centre, London). 

I hope to continue these kinds of dialogues after I've left UCL, and maybe I'll form long-lasting relationships with some of the scientists. 

What do you do now to chill and get work-life balance?

Music is one aspect: I used to listen to indie and soul music (Radiohead, Otis Redding, &c). I now sing in a choral society with three other CDB members. I’m not a gym or sports fan, but I try to do stretching exercises every day for my head and shoulders.  I'm also active in an Instagram community with other artists.

Would you recommend joining UCL CDB?

Yes.  CDB, like UCL in general,  is keen on interdisciplinary discussions, which is why, I guess, they have invited me to be artist-in-residence. I was also interested to learn how some scientific research at CDB is inherently interdisciplinary.  For example, it combines research in robotic engineering and anatomy.  I am able to have a dialogue about this with a CDB scientist and add a third discipline – art, I'm really amazed at the generosity of these super-busy people when they give up their time to do that.