Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds began in 2016 as a collaboration with Newcastle University’s Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB) and continued through 2022. Developed primarily in the artist’s studio, the project explores the intersections of everyday life, trauma, conflict, survival and transformation, inspired in part by research into bacterial behaviour.
Through an intense combination of materials and processes, the paintings and films bring life and death, the human and the machine, into charged dialogue. They invite audiences to reflect on connection, change, and the relationship between art and science. The work brings together high- and electro-grade solvents, opposing retardants, oil-based inks, oil- and water-based paints, and mineral powders, including copper sulphate. Through these materials and processes, the paintings seek to evoke purity and beauty by capturing life in its raw, unfiltered state.
The project has resulted in two exhibitions at the CBCB, in 2018 and 2022. A collection of paintings is available to view at the CBCB by appointment.
The project began with a life-threatening infection caused by Group A Streptococcus (GAS), which the artist contracted while travelling through the Comoros Islands. The experience became a catalyst for the work and its subsequent collaboration with the Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology (CBCB). The paintings and films give visceral form to trauma, using the complexity of the microbial world to explore human experience, both individual and collective.
Hidden Kingdoms, Shifting Worlds remains open to multiple interpretations, inviting diverse audiences to engage with the work in their own ways. It also welcomes curatorial collaboration, creating opportunities to present the paintings and films in broader public contexts where art and science intersect. These fields are central to how we understand existence, interdependence, and civilisation.
The project invites audiences to discover a hidden realm of interaction, complexity, and transformation and to reflect on how life-changing events can reshape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
The science perspective
From a science perspective, Dr Richard Daniel appraises Hill’s artwork and research in relation to CBCB research as a whole. *Hidden Kingdoms, Shifting Worlds* is a title that encompasses a wide range of sources for artwork. It also refers to bacterial cell function and strains—communities of bacteria whose interactions generate patterns of behaviour that are fascinating to observe in time-lapse sequences. Cell structure and function rely on “building blocks” and “scaffolding”—a complex, ever-evolving process of construction and reorganisation.
>As our collaboration has developed, a clear synergy has emerged, despite our differing perspectives on the artwork we create.
>My understanding of bacterial growth and its effects on an organism’s interactions with its environment focuses primarily on individual cells and molecular processes. Derek, by contrast, brings a population-level perspective, considering how cell density, interactions, and antibiotics shape bacterial growth.
All of these processes result in characteristic patterns and structures that have fascinating parallels with the art Derek generates.
>From my perspective, a bacterial cell is encased in protective layers, each with distinct properties. These layers are dynamic, changing in response to environmental conditions and communication among bacterial cells. This ultimately results in a complex microbial community (biofilm) that has surface properties that result in the formation of colonies with patterned surfaces. In this respect, there are significant parallels to the “significantly larger” canvases that Derek generates. >Here, his application of different materials and paints results in surface features that develop over time, generating wrinkles and deformations. Derek has exploited this process, together with solvent incompatibility and slow evaporation, to create textures and colour variations that evoke biological forms on a readily appreciable scale. While I value the visual qualities of his work, I am equally fascinated by how he achieves these results—an aspect of his artistic process that is difficult to convey to an audience in real time.In this respect, our collaboration has provided a way to link scientific research and art that are mutually beneficial. Of these, the key one has been the inspiration to develop experimental approaches that have visual results and devise new ways to present visual images and concepts. Derek’s inquisitive approach to understanding biological processes and visualising bacterial growth and interaction in real time has further strengthened synergies between his work and my research. Here, the application of time-lapse imaging, both at the micro- and macroscopic level, gave an appreciation of the interaction of microbes and how “small-organic” processes culminate in visual textures and features. (These features further reinforce the parallels that can be seen in many of the current Derek’s projects.)
>The ultimate aim of our work is to generate material that “intrigues the viewer” into their own interpretation of the processes involved and to use this to extend understanding of both the microbial world and artistic interpretation.
Dr Richard Daniel, March 2026
Co-collaborator and Senior Lecturer, Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology
Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, Baddiley-Clark Building, NE2 4AX
Dr Outi Remes, Head of Exhibitions at South Hill Park, curated the exhibition, Flaw: The New Work, featuring John Millard, the former manager of Liverpool and Newcastle Museums. In his accompanying article, Dr Davy Smith highlights the Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds Exhibition 2022.
John Millard Review for Shifting Worlds Exhibition 2018:
https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/hidden-kingdoms-shifting-worlds/
Dr Outi Remes: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/shifts-in-time-a-journey-2/
Dr Davy Smith Review for Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds Exhibition 2022:
Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/hidden-kingdoms-shifting-worlds/
Artist at the CBCB, Newcastle University: https://www.derekhill.co.uk/work/cat/artist-at-the-cbcb/
Hidden Kingdoms Shifting Worlds YouTube Video Shorts Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQteKPuE8QuOHNERlXBbHc7deFr0kzv9k&si=GkSYoTHatwnvnMDJ
Artist at the CBCB, Animation Films of Lab Research: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQteKPuE8QuMw3F65_zb1p3AtYoQo0xNq&si=Tz2XmMniZzEbJtk7
