Chalkboard Memories
Echo of Experience
In this series of mixed media chalkboard paintings, my goal was to call attention to the quest to unlock the mysteries of the human mind and the fragility of our memory. I started by building and erasing layers of written ideas and recollections, leaving a patina of dust or a gist of what was important. With a chalkboard, it’s so easy to edit the surface, leaving some parts while erasing others. The longing for permanence in this delicate matrix is explicitly stated in the chalked-on words ‘Do not erase.’
In Forgetting
Memory, the scientific method, and the changeable surface of a chalkboard allow for iteration and change. There is value in rewriting and even in forgetting; this process enables us to learn and adapt to new experiences in our ever-changing world.
Neuroscience is a burgeoning field of study that no longer treats the brain like a black box. Still, we currently observe neural activity in the human mind indirectly and only look at functionality more directly in other animals. We learn more each day about activity and structures at a cellular level, but we still have a long way to go, building on the ideas that others have brought together, written down, and passed on.
In some pieces there is a figure of a phrenology head, a debunked theory and practice that mapped character and mental abilities to the bumps on a person’s head. This image is a reminder that science searches at the limits of its ability to observe.
Neuroscience is a burgeoning field of study that no longer treats the brain like a black box. Still, we currently observe neural activity in the human mind indirectly and only look at functionality more directly in other animals. We learn more each day about activity and structures at a cellular level, but we still have a long way to go, building on the ideas that others have brought together, written down, and passed on.
In some pieces there is a figure of a phrenology head, a debunked theory and practice that mapped character and mental abilities to the bumps on a person’s head. This image is a reminder that science searches at the limits of its ability to observe.
Perception
Provisional Atlas
Catching Memories