Data Shadows is a collaboration between artist Jacob van der Beugel, philosopher Sabrina Leonelli and filmmaker Oliver page. It is an imaginative film that portrays data as tangible, material objects. Through the lens of beautifully crafted ceramic data cores, this film investigates the how data is, as the artist describes, ‘curated and cleaned’.

Data Shadows is the result of an artist residency at Egenis, the world-renowned institute of data science at the University of Exeter.

Jacob van der Beugel is an artist based in Devon, whose work explores the connection between data science and our everyday lives. Using themes such as inheritance, ancestry, legacy and the self, his work transforms complex scientific information into abstract ceramic artworks.

This work contains flashing lights which may not be suitable for those with photosensitive epilepsy or other photosensitive conditions.

This display is in celebration of Art Week Exeter 2025, as part of RAMM’s Contemporary Art Programme funded by Arts Council England.