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14/3/2002

Head On

Science Museum, London

art with the brain in mind

An exhibition at the Wellcome Trustís temporary exhibition gallery Science Museum, London

Curators: Ken Arnold, Marina Wallace, assisted by Caterina Albano
Exhibition synopsis November 2000

Introduction
For artists concerned with questions of human expression, identity and consciousness, the head has always been a primary focus of inspiration. In science too the head has provided a sustained subject of research, from psychological readings of expression and phrenology through to the modern use of scanning techniques to reveal brain activity. This exhibition draws on these twinned cultural strands both to reveal how innovative artists are re-shaping our conceptions of the head and to present some of the science and its history that has nourished this new art.

Crucial to the conception of Head On is the mutually informative and challenging relationship between art and science. To this end, this arts-led Wellcome Trust exhibition is being developed in association with the European Dana Alliance for the Brain - an international foundation that disseminates information on up-to-date brain-research in order to encourage a broader understanding of this work as well as a range of brain disorders. The close links with Dana will enable the exhibition team to establish contacts with international scientists working in the most topical areas of brain research and to forge mutually fruitful and original collaborations with the artists.

It is taken for granted that our movements, actions, sensations, thoughts, emotions, memories and creativity are all related to the brain. And if the Cartesian assertion that we only exist because we think (because, that is, of our brain work) be true, then the possibility of unravelling the intricate nature of mental identity is one of humanities greatest challenges. It is also one which increasingly brings together disciplines as diverse as evolutionary biology, genetics, neurology, psychology, philosophy and the arts. A further ingredient in this quest is, ironically, the dissolution of another Cartesian legacy, namely the mind-body distinction, which some historians posited as the intellectual starting point of modernity.

With such intriguing and universally vital issues as a backdrop, it is not surprising that increasing numbers of artists are drawn to explore questions about the workings of the brain:

What do we do when we look? What happens if we look through closed eyes, with our mind?s eyes? How do we learn and remember things? What is language? How do emotions relate to brain activity? How do we recognise faces? What is the distinction between the brain and the mind? How do drugs affect brain functions? How do dyslexia and depression manifest themselves and how are they dealt with by the brain?

These, amongst many others, are questions which artists and scientists have been puzzling over for centuries, but which now, through the latest developments in neuroscience, have taken on a new intellectual and social urgency.

Although it is impossible even to touch on all these aspects of brain research, Head On will include works exploring topics such as dyslexia, neuro-genetics, neuro-psychology, associative learning and memory patterns, behavioural psychology, brain imaging and mapping and research in psycho-metabolic and neuro-psychiatric conditions. But contemporary brain science has not come out of nowhere and the exhibition will also explicitly draw historical and imaginative links between the past and the present. Equally important in the conception of the exhibition therefore is the inscription of contemporary artworks within a carefully and appropriately selected historical framework, embodied in historical exhibits primarily drawn from Wellcome Collections at the Wellcome Library and the Science Museum.


Exhibition Aims

The success of Spectacular Bodies: The Art & Science of the Human Body from Leonardo to Now (Hayward Gallery, October 2000 to January 2001, co-curated by Marina Wallace and Martin Kemp) confirms the prominence of, and popular appetite for, issues concerning the body, medicine, and visual arts. The collaboration of eight contemporary artists coming from very different artistic backgrounds has also proved central to the success of the Hayward Gallery exhibition.

By focusing on the work of contemporary artists, but deliberately juxtaposing it with current scientific research and historical references, Head On aims to further a more focused investigation of the correlation and interaction between art and science. Departing from so many recent science and art projects that deal with seemingly headless human bodies, Head On will consider a curiously neglected area of mutual interest ñ the mind and brain. It will highlight the intricate universe of the head moving from its surface and exterior appearance - its varying forms, as well as modes of perception, identification and representation - to the myriad worlds within it. Questions about brain activity (perception, emotion, thought, language, and memory) and about the causes of conditions such as dyslexia, depression and addiction will provide common ground on which selected artists and scientists will bring together insights from cutting-edge research in both fields. As a result, the exhibition will itself represent a work in progress, a starting point for further elaboration rather than a consolidation of set answers.


Exhibition Structure

The exhibition will be divided in two chambers.

The first will dwell on the outside of the head through a range of artworks and historical exhibits. This parade of the brain?s shell or container is likely to include works by artists such as Elizabeth Frink, Marc Quinn, Tony Bevan, John Beard, Patrick Hughes, Pat York, Christine Borland, David Hockney, and Richard Wentworth. Their works will be presented in juxtaposition with images from the most current techniques of scanning along with material touching on the historical legacy of such interests as early modern theatres of memories and cabinets of curiosities, 19th century phrenological and physiognomical studies, through to 20th century brain and psychological models.

The second chamber will be based on the curatorial collaboration of some ten artists who, in partnership with a range of medical scientists, will develop individual thematic projects for the exhibition. Aspects of perception, physiognomy, phrenology, neurology and other brain sciences will be embedded within their work, with the relation of their artwork to scientific topics and their history will be conveyed through a mixed presentation of artwork, contemporary scientific ideas and information and historical exhibits. Contributing artists confirmed so far include:

Osi Audu: whose work explores the connections between the inner vision - as developed within his native Yoruba tradition - and its neuro-physiological basis.

Andrew Carnie: whose work deals with representations of the brain and the relation of memory to maps of the brain as well as the social functions of memory.

Annie Cattrell: who is interested in the physicality of consciousness and in the conception of the brain?s neurological functions as explored in MRI and PET scans.

Katharine Dowson: whose work will concentrate on dyslexia as a developmental disorder and its possible genetic aspects.

Letizia Galli: who will in her project deal with mental conditions relating to depression and addiction.

Claude Heath: who works drawing blindfolded will focus on the relation the eye and the hand and further consider the perception of depth in heads and faces and how this affects their representations in two and three dimensions.

Gerhard Lang: whose work will focus on questions surrounding the pre-determinism of thought and intentionality with specific references to criminology.

Tim OíRiley: whose work uses stereo imaging techniques to explore the eye-brain interactions involved in our perception of objects.

Audio-visual:
The Wellcome Trust has further commissioned the historian of medicine (University of Naples) and international film-maker Riccardo De Sanctis to produce a new audio-visual work exploring the many issues raised by the exhibition. The film will be presented as an integral part of the show, complementing other aspects of the exhibition and in particular providing further insight into the scientific and historical material and the collaborations between artists and scientists.

Venue:
In preparation for the longer-term renovation of its own gallery space, the Wellcome Trust intends to open a new temporary exhibition gallery at and in collaboration with the Science Museum in London. This venue will provide a suitable environment for the exhibition and ensure that it is visited by a broad and diversified audience. The possible transfer of the exhibition to venues in France and Italy is also currently being explored.

Publication and Web-site:
The possibility of accompanying the exhibition with an illustrated catalogue with curatorial essays and contributions from the artists and scientists is also being investigated. The exhibition will also have a presence on the Wellcome Trustís web-site, with connections to that of the Science Museum.

Science Museum
Exhibition Road, SW7 London

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