Constructed Emotion
MAINSITE Contemporary Art
Friday August 9th through September 21
The science of emotion is changing. Our understanding of how the brain works is overturning 20th century paradigms. We once accepted as truth that emotional responses are automatic, and hardwired to specific regions of the brain. This project was initially inspired by the research of Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD. Her book “How Emotions Are Made” demonstrates how “we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture.” My new body of work uses Barrett’s research as a starting point to connect emotional processes with visual language.
In this exhibition, Constructed Emotion, I explore a range of concepts related to current viewpoints in neuroscience, quantum physics, philosophy, and computer science to tell a story about our contemporary experience. I use color systems as a means to describe the function of neurotransmitters. These color systems are further integrated with images of chemical diagrams and CT scans of the human brain. Using the figure/ground relationship I demonstrate how your brain “fills in” missing information as it makes predictions based upon past experiences. Sir Roger Penrose’s theory that consciousness arises from quantum wave function collapses is referenced through the incorporation of subatomic particle imagery, specifically the Higgs Boson. This project is a glimpse into our evolving understanding of the human experience using emotion as metaphor.
It also examines our anxious relationship with Artificial Intelligence. Viewers will observe full profile self portraits created using photographic tracings. Each is constructed using a series of nodes, transposing the portrait profiles into input cells that link to a Deconvolutional Neural Network. Deconvolutional is a type of network that emulates a biological brain’s frontal lobe. There are two expressions depicted in these portraits; an expression of calm and a scream. The two represent the dichotomy that exists within the human/AI or human/knowledge relationship. The scream communicates the anxieties derived from our fears. The calm face illustrates our symbiotic and deeply integrated relationship with the sciences, philosophy, and technology. This work prompts reflection about our current state of being, and our ever nascent relationship with knowledge which informs a cultural ethos that continually refashions our conception of the self and soul.
Images from the opening reception:
