Threads of Thought

As part of Birmingham Festival of Neuroscience 2017 I was commissioned to develop a neuroscience themed colouring-in sheet and print workshops for children and families. This work was included in Fun and Brains, a series of visual and performance art events at Birmingham City Library. The workshops enabled families to make images inspired by brain processes and neuroanatomy using mono print and textiles. This was ‘brain imagining’ creating unique prints to imagine what cannot be seen, the mystery of the human brain. The colouring sheet included an imaginative view of the brain with further images and some basic factual information about neuro anatomy on the reverse side (facts verified by Professor Murray Shanahan!) and introduced by Elizabeth the art researcher who began working with me on The Hut project. The sheets were printed on A2 paper and it was wonderful to see them transformed in a variety of colours by the library visitors. This work is part of a developing longer term collaborative neuroscience project which will become a touring exhibition and series of public engagement. I am collaborating with Professor Murray Shanahan of Imperial College London and Dr. Srivas Chennu of Cambridge and Kent universities and have devised an engaging project including a striking textile and print based installation, a printed comic and a program of public engagement with museum based and outreach art workshops.