'Cyclotron' 2002

Location: In the walkway between the Cyclotron and the Singletron 

Titia Droog (1951) makes free work and also accepts commissions. This work was a commission from the TU/e, and before that she received commissions from NAM, DSM and the Nederlandsche Bank among others.
Before she can finish her study of Industrial Design in Eindhoven she goes to Oman, where her husband is involved in a project. In Oman one of the things she does is teaching literacy courses to Oman women.
Droog: "Then I became aware of the use of symbols. In the courses I taught you have to clarify everything by means of illustrations and this requires great precision. You have to take into account all kinds of cultural traditions before proper understanding begins. Thus, women do not recognize themselves if the women in the pictures are not wearing chuddars."  

Once back in the Netherlands her husband gets involved in a complicated project about district heating and Droog makes a painting about it, a kind of survey. Her starting point is the question: 'What makes this project so complex?' When an employee of the NAM sees this, he is immediately enthusiastic and this results in her first commission. And one thing leads to another.

In her commissions Droog uses animals as the main characters, in this case a mouse. Droog: "I saw mice’s hearts being used for research and I find the TU/e campus rather drab and grey. Also, mice are intelligent and nimble little animals, which will go on and on to get what they want. If route A does not produce any result, they will try route B, and so on."

In the Cyclotron the TU/e conducts research; in the Singletron the company Amersham Health produces radioactive medicines. In the painting Droog emphasizes the research as well as the building and the security measures. For instance, there is one mouse checking the proper thickness of the concrete. Apart from the scientific mice you also get the 'logistic' mouse, wearing a reversed baseball cap. Speed is of the essence, for sometimes merely a few hours are allowed to get the product to a hospital, because some radiopharmaceuticals are only radioactive for five hours. Within that period the product must have been rushed from the Singletron to a patient in a hospital in Groningen.

In September 2002 the canvas was presented to the TU/e by HBG, Tebodin, Kuypers and Alewijns upon the opening of the new Cyclotron.

See also: Vubis database