Do You Mind?Artists respond to ma!ers of the mind

Exhibition 29th July - 7th August 2010, Suite 106, Ironbank, 150 K Rd, Auckland

www.doyoumind.tumblr.com

ISBN 978-0-473-17421-7First Edition Editors: Megan Dowie, !e Busy Nice (Erin & Leah Forsyth)Design: Tom HenryPhotograhers: Mhairi-Clare Fitzpatrick, Mei Cooper, Simeon Patience, Andrew Conlan

CONTENTS

ForewordsDo You Mind? Team............................................................05.Richard Faull.........................................................................06.Rob Garre"............................................................................07.

THE WORKResponses from Researchers and Artists

Researchers ArtistsLucy Goodman................... Sophie Bannam .....................12.Valerie van Mulukom........ Melanie Bell...........................14.Sarina Iwabuchi...................Estella Castle.........................16.Julie"e Cheyne....................Timothy Chapman...............18.Pritika Narayan....................Mei Cooper...........................20.Carolyn Wu..........................Rita Godlevskis.....................22.Henry Waldvogel................Henrie"a Harris....................24.Renee Gordon.....................Tom Henry............................26.Veema Lodhia.....................Aaron King Cole...................30.Reece Roberts.....................Lia Kent MacKillop..............32.Jane Evan..............................David McClunie....................34.Kim Wise..............................Aleksandra Petrovic..............36.Amy Smith...........................Dane Taylor............................38.Amelia Van Slooten...........Amy Unkovich........................40.

Do You Mind? Team Biography.........................................43.About CBR ........................................................................... 44.Artist and Researcher Biographies....................................45.Sponsors ................................................................................48.

Do You Mind?

Do You Mind? is a project involving 15 facilitated part-nerships between newly-established artists and emerging brain researchers from the Centre for Brain Research (CBR), at the University of Auckland.

Separate challenges were issued to the selected researchers and artists at the projects launch on the 6th of May. !e challenge speci#c to the researcher was to provide direct information and vital inspiration per-taining to the subject, purpose and process of their work. !e challenge speci#c to the artist was to interpret and respond to the work of their research partner in a creative capacity for the purpose of an exhibition.

It was later announced that on the 29th of July, 2010 Do You Mind?, the exhibition was to open to the public. Partners had to then work quickly to establish a rapport and produce results. !ese pages detail the varying results of these collaborative partnerships.These are the indi-vidual written responses of each participant, selected images from the exhibition and from the researchers work. Each double page spread dedicated to a partner-ship under ‘!e Work’, also includes a description of the research that cemented these partnerships, and made Do You Mind? a success.

!is project was initiated to explore and extend the interaction between research and creative engagement. It is anticipated that the project will captivate new audiences for the research and the creative disciplines being prac-ticed in Auckland.

04

!e First Collaboration:

Megan Dowie, Research Fellow, Centre for Brain Research

The initiation of Do You Mind? was as serendipitous as any new experiment. Leah and I were social acquain-tances; we didn’t normally cross paths professionally. We found ourselves at the CBR launch in November 2009 and it was there that I mentioned this off-beat project idea to her.

To have The Busy Nice interested in a science-art collaboration already felt like success. Very quickly I made two new friends in my col-laborators, learnt extensively about 15 research projects and their investigators, and 15 artists and their practice.

One of our goals was al-ways to promote neuroscience research in a new environ-ment. Another priority was to enable emerging neurosci-entists and newly-established artists to gain exposure. And personally, I always like shar-ing my passion for the brain.

Seeing the outcomes of the project now, in the form of these beautiful, diverse, challenging, and stimulating artworks, and through the honest and passionate wri"en responses is amazing.

Erin Forsyth, "e Busy Nice

It has been a pleasure watching Do You Mind? develop into a project about community and relationship.

An overall view of the project could look in par-ticular at the relationship between the science and art communities within Auck-land. But it is perhaps nicer to look at the individual relation-ships within this construct and how they have developed. The collaboration between the artists and researchers involved stepping outside of their roles in prescribed voca-tions, to work together; each communicating the theories and practicalities of their prac-tice to a stranger from outside their #eld, each a"empting to understand.

!is emphatic contin-gency certainly contributed to the cultivation of new relation-ships. It also projected each individuals practice outside of the o$en insular communities of science and art.

Do You Mind? is an expression to the public of the variance, discipline and talent found in both communities and how we can celebrate those things together.

Leah Forsyth, "e Busy Nice

Science informing art is by no means new territory. Art has been informed for centu-ries by biology, anthropology, geography and undoubtedly all fields of science. What I #nd interesting are the paral-lels that emerge between both practices; from hypothesis and questioning, to observa-tion and experimentation.

If experimentation is con-sidered a scientific practice then one could argue that this is in fact a scientific project. For Do You Mind? we took two elements – researcher and artist, paired them at random and then asked the artist to respond to the researcher’s field. There was no right or wrong between the collabo-rations. We purely facilitated this challenge and observed the varying dynamics between each individual partnership as their interaction unfolded.

As a result of these varied interactions we have over 40 new original works in response to the brain research being conducted at the Uni-versity of Auckland.

05

The brain is responsible for our creativ-ity, imagination and passion for life. It is challenging and beautiful in both its scien-ti#c and artistic complexity. !is science-art collaboration bringing together the minds of young neuroscientists and artists to give expression to our research and the artistic beauty of the brain is an exciting and innovative development for the Cen-tre for Brain Research and strengthens our links with the Auckland art community.

!e importance and potential of such new ‘experimental’ initiatives such as this are best judged by the outcomes. The comments and feedback from both the artists and the researchers demonstrate that the artistic mind sees quite hidden and totally new perspectives in our brain research which informs and expands the minds of our scientists in quite unexpected directions. On the one hand, simple brain cell images and func-tional properties conjure up quite sur-prising complexities and interpretations in the artist’s mind, which are portrayed in challenging but o$en simple distorted images. On the other hand, the complexi-ties of scientific brain function do not

necessarily trouble the artist, who natu-rally accommodates the abstract in their everyday view of life in all its complexities.

This spectrum of simple to complex science-art interactions is represented in the whole myriad of beautiful artis-tic interpretations represented in this quite innovative exhibition. Just like a scientific experiment, the most exciting and important outcomes are the unex-pected – expected outcomes are often dull and boring by comparison. !e great virtue of this collaboration of different minds is the totally unforeseen results.

Above all else, this unique collabora-tion of quite different minds stimulates the scientist to view and interpret their research in innovative and unexpected ways. !is is the critical element in realising the signi#cance of new discoveries – that is what the spirit of enquiry is all about. !e challenging results exhibited through ‘Do You Mind?’ are critical to opening our eyes and the minds of our young scientists and artists to see science in another form and to advance our under-standing of the human brain.

FOREWORD

06

Professor Richard Faull Director, Centre for Brain Research

There is growing interest in science among international contemporary art-ists and so it is exciting to see a local proj-ect, which engages emerging scientists with emerging artists. Do You Mind? with its witty play on the fact that all the researchers are neuroscientists from Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, brings two 15-a-side teams together for a collision of the minds.

What is to be gained from bringing artists and scientists together in this way? While artists are notorious opportunists and scavengers in the pursuit of their art, ready to grab novel materials and new thinking and give something untested a go, the scientists, though no less imagi-native, are likely to be well ensconced in research projects and methodologies that give them very li"le leeway for spec-ulative play.

One of the key bene#ts for the sci-ence community is the ability to bring their research work before new audienc-es through their engagement with the art world. !is is particularly important in a country where the per capita investment in research, science and technology is

signi#cantly below the OECD average. !e country’s poor performance is not the result of poor science. New Zea-land in fact rates very highly across the measures that indicate the quality of re-search. Where we under-perform is in science investment. While below average government funding is a contributor, the main reason is poor levels of private in-vestment; and private investment is the key that unlocks the commercialisation track for scienti#c discoveries. Improve-ments in that area have the potential to li$ the whole country’s economic per-formance. Over the long term, one of the strategies necessary for addressing this dilemma is to build be"er awareness about and knowledge of scientific re-search among non-specialist audiences. Do You Mind? is a part of that strategy because it frames the science through fresh perspectives and enables it to be presented to the supporters of art, some of whom may be future science investors and entrepreneurs.

What is to be gained by the artists? Artists bene#t because the project brings them into contact with a strange new world with unfamiliar metaphors, novel visualisation technologies, new ways of conceiving sensory-spatial relationships, and a new sense of scale. From the emer-gence of Modernism through to the pres-ent day trajectories of contemporary art, artists have sought out the novel and the bewildering specifically because these incomprehensible hinterlands to their world stimulate innovative approaches to art making and art thinking. There-fore, Do You Mind? has o%ered the 15 participating artists new #elds of stimu-lus that will have directly in&uenced how they think and what they make.

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Rob Garre" Director, Rob Garre" Contemporary Fine Art

!e Work

Sophie Bannan Video still

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Lucy Goodman and Sophie Bannan

I am currently working alongside other researchers at the Visual Neuroscience Research Laboratory (VNRL) to under-stand whether the visual areas of the brain can be modi#ed to improve how we perceive visual information. Understanding this ‘plasticity’ of the visual brain areas may help to develop clinical treatments for certain types of visual disorders, such as ‘lazy eye’ (amblyopia). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a method of transiently altering brain excitability. I am involved in a research project using functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI) to test whether tDCS over the adult visual brain areas will promote plasticity and improve vision in both the normal and amblyopic visual system.

In the random pairings arranged between artist and researcher, it seemed that uncannily ideal partnerships were formed, or perhaps this feeling was borne out of necessity with the prospect of making work based on another’s research. Rather than simply using the research I had access to, it was important for me to actively utilise it, looking for commonalities in both our #elds of work in order to accurately represent our two #elds and their points of intersection. To view lazy eye research through a performative gaze lends itself to a dissection of process rather than result. I revelled in the lo-#-ness of the pro-grammes and handmade quality of the equipment, as well as the personal experience of participating in these tasks that are seemingly non-eventful to an onlooker. In this respect, with a"ention to the actions taking place in the lab (as opposed to the results or statistics they produce), it was fundamental that my researcher played a role in the actual making of the work, the product of which I regard to be a successful collaboration.

Together a vision scientist and an artist with vision cap-tured a unique and unimaginable image of science. ‘Do You Mind’ allowed me to step back and view research from a di%erent viewpoint. Caught up in the everyday experience of research, it’s easy for me to forget how unique our experimental set-up must appear to others. Working alongside an artist with a talent for photogra-phy allowed me to appreciate how others must view our research process.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Melanie Bell Untitled

Acrylic on newsprint 260 x 405mm

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Valerie van Mulukom and Melanie Bell

Valerie is currently conducting an fMRI-experiment on memory and imagination ( fMRI is a type of neuroimaging, or brain scan). "e experiment is based on recent research showing that similar brain activity occurs when we think about our past (remembering) and when we think about our future (imagining). "is #nding has led to a reconceptualisation of memory: the idea that ‘episodic details’ are recombined either into a memory (remembering as a constructive process), or into a novel scenario (simulating or imagining). "is research will be extended to investigate the #ner components of imagination, links to creativity and art, and evolu-tionary aspects. Valerie’s research suggests that the brain activity we experience while remembering something that has happened is nearly identical to what happens when we try to imagine something in the future. When I heard this it seemed pleasingly intui-tive – both being exercises in mental time travel; but also very uncomfortable – it makes clear something we’d rather forget about remembering.

A problem I have with even ordinary imagining and remem-bering: Every time I make split pea soup, which is a lot lately - for the #rst half hour a$er adding the split peas, I think no way, there is no way these will so$en and no way this disparate collection of stu% will turn into soup – the ingredients so fun-damentally di%erent to each other, it’s already been half an hour and nothing is happening. Every time, another half hour later it has emerged as soup, and I’m brie&y but genuinely surprised.

I was really enthusiastic about the project right from the start – it linked directly with my main interests in the scienti#c #eld, and outside it. Indeed, Melanie and I had interesting discus-sions about all kinds of aspects of art, right from the begin-ning: conscious control in creative processes, imagination as (re)construction, you name it. We met a couple of times, and each time came up with di%erent discussions, which was very inspiring.

Conclusively, I think this project has been a great success – in seeing what other people were doing and hearing all the ideas that &owed on the meetings, etc. However, I think that for future projects there could be some more emphasis on the collaboration between the artist and the scientist. !at is, to get even more of an interaction going, to draw more a"ention to brain research, and to lay this meaning in the artwork, directly or indirectly.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Estella Castle Untitled

Oil on canvas950 x 1300mm

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Sarina Iwabuchi and Estella Castle

I am currently researching brain structure and function using various neuroimaging techniques. My particular interests revolve around brain asymmetries – di$erences in structure and function between the le% and right hemispheres. Using MRI techniques ( functional MRI and di$usion tensor imaging), I am hoping to discover a direct link between brain structure (connections between various brain regions) and function (how these brain regions activate during cognitive tasks), and how these connections di$er between the hemispheres. On establishing these links, the ultimate goal would be to investigate the implications on patients undergoing resection surgery and the pa!erns of postsurgical neural recovery of these connections.

During this collaboration my interest became focused on my partner, Sarina ‘!e Scientist’ rather than her research, and I began to contemplate how she might be portrayed as such. !is created a con&ict of interest for me because I generally make portraits of #ctional characters from romantic literature, choos-ing characters from a text that has been made into a #lm as a basis to examine underlying issues of representation. I usually work from the source material, recreate the character with a model and then photograph the scene. !is is then translated into a painting. In portraying Sarina I had no novel or #lm to work with, so I spent time with her to get a sense of her character and studied di%erent media featuring female scientists depicted in popular culture. !e resulting painting is quite novel as all the elements of my usual practice have been assembled in reverse order.

I was really excited about this project and fascinated by an art-ist’s perspective on science, or in my case scientists. With Stella being a portrait painter, I was intrigued about her take on the identity of myself as a scientist and how certain features or per-sonalities could be brought forward in a portrait without being stereotypical or obvious. Our initial conversations involved discussions about my research, as well as the processes Stella goes through when developing a portrait. It was interesting to discover her a"ention to small but important details that provide clues to the identity of the individual, such as the use of blue lighting, since I spend countless hours analyzing data in front of a computer. I truly enjoyed this unique experience with Stella and am very excited about seeing the #nal piece and everybody’s (both scientists’ and artists’) reactions.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Tim Chapman My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas

Etching on paper, #rst edition 138 x 550 mm

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Julie"e Cheyne and Timothy Chapman

Julie!e studies the formation of synapses and the changes in strength of synapses that occur in response to neuronal activity. "e hippocampus is one of a limited number of regions in the brain where new neurons are generated throughout life. Julie!e is also interested in how these new neurons become synaptically connected into neuronal networks. Julie!e uses &uorescence microscopy to examine the expression levels of synaptic proteins in newly generated and mature neurons. Julie!e also studies the electrical properties of live neurons using a technique called electrophysiol-ogy where she records 'om individual neurons. By recording 'om pairs of neurons she examines the properties and plasticity of the synapses that connect the two neurons.

!e lab is clean and organised; a foreign working environment to me. I sit anxiously in front of a large, expensive looking microscope that Julie"e has for some reason trusted me with; I try not to break it. We both stare at a cosy pair of neurons on a black and white monitor; they are so small I feel like I’m looking into another dimension. A computer is graphing a seemingly random signal, but I know – from Julie"e’s patient explanation – that it is like a bit of the stu% I use to tie my shoe-laces. My brain feels full. I look at the monitor and wonder what is going on in my brain right now as I think about what is going on in my brain… Did I just felt a synapse connect?

Will Julie"e be as confused by my art as I am by her science? !is thought runs through my head as I soak a piece of steel plate in an acid bath. !oughts don’t seem as ephemeral as they did now that I’ve seen what they look like. !e phrase ‘etched into memory’ pops to mind and I laugh at the pun as I ink the plate and run it through the press. I think about Julie"e’s research as I study the image; I hope people ‘connect the dots’. I wonder how many synapses a pun con-nects?

Do you mind? has been an exciting and interesting project to be involved in for many reasons. I love talking about my research with others and this has been a fun way to share my research with a dif-ferent audience. It can be challenging explaining the complexity of what I study to people with no neuroscience background and I found that explaining one thing meant having to explain something else and many scribbled pictures and descriptions later I think Tim was able to get an idea of how the networks of brain cells are able to store memo-ries. We found that it wasn’t hard to think of aspect of my research that would be great to explore in an artistic manner but exactly how to go about it was the hard part! I enjoyed the way that our discussions about my research linked to ideas that Tim has previously portrayed with his work.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Mei Cooper Research practice

(the innumerable task of generating problems

to save tomorrow)Acrylic, plastic,

masking tape, aluminium and steelDimensions variable

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Pritika Narayan and Mei Cooper

My project a!empts to be!er understand how DNA may be ar-ranged within cells that form the individual building blocks of organs such as the brain, and whether this arrangement of DNA is altered in diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer’s disease. I used antibod-ies that detect molecules that DNA winds around, to label regions 'om post-mortem human brains. "e signal 'om these antibodies can be ampli#ed with &uorescent probes which can then be studied using a &uorescent microscope. Using specialised digital cameras and so%ware, images of the staining pa!erns can be analysed to extract valuable information to compare disease brains to neurologically normal brains and help us be!er understand the disease state.

My experience has centred on a number of things. Firstly, an inability to conceive of the physicality of the tiniest components of our being. Also, the unthinkable di%erence in brain size and function following the onset of Alzheimer’s; and #nally, how this research bridges the monumental gap between wholeness and loss.

I’ve come to think that on a certain level, art and science are relatively similar. We #nd content we relate to; have some inter-est and personal investment in and choose to blindly pursue it till we are seduced with a speci#c issue to address. When we’re in that place we pick apart what we’ve found using systems put in place by those who’ve gone before us. We exchange system for system, methodology for methodology and exercise our tired aesthetics till we #nd a state of exception.

!e collaboration with Mei Cooper has reminded me that there is a lot of art to science and also to appreciate the beauty within the intricacies of what we do as a scientist. To notice the art and creativity in the di%erent techniques themselves, as well as in the results we obtain. An interesting idea that caught and inspired Mei from the start of our collaboration was the question: “what are our unique individual personalities actually a product of?” Biological entities such as DNA and cells which may programme and physically manufacture each of us, obviously have a signi#-cant contribution, but our minds and personalities are a product of so many other factors also (be it environmental, psychologi-cal, cultural, spiritual, relational, you name it). !rough this initiative my colleagues and I have found ourselves interacting with people, genres, themes, ideas and philosophies in a new light, helping us to #nd common ground by building ‘cultured’ bridges between these 2 traditionally distinct disciplines.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Rita Godlevskis Connections; Music and Mind

Digital print with acrylic mounting101 x 101mm

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Carolyn Wu and Rita Godlevskis

Carolyn is investigating auditory-motor associations during and a%er musical training. Musicians undergo extensive training which produces established links between auditory and mo-tor areas of the brain; the training undertaken aims to develop, strengthen and eventually enable &exibility in these connections in order to become pro#cient in performing music. Training-induced plasticity of the brain is fundamental in creating these auditory-motor associations. "erefore music learning provides a 'amework for cognitive neuroscientists to study the human brain’s facility for plasticity in the sensorimotor domain. Currently Caro-lyn is using electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate changes in oscillatory activity in the brain a%er piano keyboard training.

My site-speci#c piece “Connections: Music and Mind” is a work based on brain research by Auckland University’s Doc-toral candidate Carolyn Wu.

Carolyn Wu’s research investigates music perception and its inherent relationship to action. Her #ndings look towards contributing to revealing systems for auditory-motor integra-tion that are established during music training. Wu’s testing method involves the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to measure sensorimotor brain responses.

In representing this scienti#c research I have arranged thirty photo-based images in a formation mimicking the key points of the Geodesic Sensor Net map used to measure EEG. !e primary visual theme of the work utilizes still frames of muti-media artist, Benjamin Bojko’s sound visualizations. Bojko’s visual calculations of music re&ect the concept of what sound looks like as well as the spark and instantaneous reactive connection between music and action.

I set out at the start of this project with a very open outlook – I was completely open and curious to see how the project progressed and what artwork would be created. I think that because of this, I have enjoyed every step of the way – it really was an exploration, right from the beginning conversation. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting with Rita, who grasped the concept of my research straight away. I appreciate the thought and problem solving that she put into creating her artwork, and she made an e%ort to update me of the progress along the way. It was fun to see what interests others - which is o$en di%erent to the main interesting factors for the researchers themselves! And it was a great challenge to talk about my research in a di%erent way, to a di%erent audience.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Henrie!a HarrisAutoradiograph

Gouache on Paper 210 x 297mm

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Henry Waldvogel and Henrie"a Harris

My main area of research is the structure and chemical neuro-anatomy of the normal human brain and changes that occur in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases. I use specialised microscopes to image the brain and its individual brain cells. "ese cells are stained with many di$erent dyes and cell speci#c markers. Additionally, weak radioactive labels are used to localise speci#c receptors on these neurons which are seen on radioactive sensitive #lms like miniature x-rays, called autoradiographs. "is enables us to see the make-up of individual brain cells and also to study the incredible complexity of the wiring of the brain. (Image by Jocelyn Bullock)

When I #rst heard about this project my immediate thought was to make my work thoroughly planned out to re&ect what I felt the mood was. I did a bit of reading and studied pictures in books I’d been lent by Henry but it wasn’t until I went to the lab and spent two hours looking at slides that inspiration hit. It in-trigued me how by changing the microscope se"ings on various slides, you had a seemingly never-ending variety of outcomes, each as beautiful as the last. So I created a series of works which are my take on looking at neurons in the cortex, and I tried to re&ect the way the slides go in and out of focus.

!e other pieces (of which I made about 15! But am exhibit-ing four) are abstract paintings of autoradiographs of the brain which I created out of my comfort zone- no pencil outlines, barely any pre-planning, I just sat down and painted from memory my take on the beautiful pictures Henry had shown me. !e whole experience has been extremely inspirational and I can see a lot of my work in the future taking on a similar look to what I’ve done for this show.

I responded to the request to work with an artist with enthusi-asm as well as a li"le trepidation as I have always liked art and always enjoyed drawing and have done stained glass work. I had always loved the images of cells in the brain viewed through the various microscopes we have. !e presentation of images to be published is helped by an artistic touch which aids the viewer to interpret the pictures. I looked up my artist’s images on the internet and found she had produced a variety of di%erent work. I showed her some of my pictures which I have produced over the years and she visited me in the lab. We spent a couple of hours talking and I showed slides of our brain sections through the microscope. What she produced was quite amazing and it has been so interesting seeing her interpretations of my work.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Tom HenryRegeneration

Acylic and ink on paper400 x 250

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Renee Gordon and Tom Henry

"roughout adulthood stem cells within the mammalian brain continue to divide and produce new mature neurons. Following brain injury or disease this process is ampli#ed, with immature neurons migrating towards the site of cell loss. During her PhD Renée developed methods to examine this injury-induced mi-gration of stem cells and identi#ed cytokines expressed during the immune response which may be responsible for directing stem cell migration. "e artwork produced by her collabora-tion partner Tom references the degeneration and regeneration of the brain.

One thing that strikes me about Renee Gordon’s research is the idea of growth and regeneration. Research with stem cells has shown that the brain does have an ability to heal itself, a pre"y revolutionary thing. Another fascinating ele-ment of Renee’s work is the images she produces from the microscopic brain cells, evoking everything from star-like galaxies to seaweed forests.

For my artworks I aimed to create organic forms that represent this degeneration / regeneration idea. I used a process of pressing paint between surfaces to produce these random, natural forms. !e #nal result is an irregular mirror image that alludes to the hemispheres of the brain.

It has been a pleasure being involved in this project. It has opened my eyes to di%erent means of communicating science, and also brought new perspective to my research. I’ve also learnt about art practices and realized that even though art and science are completely di%erent disciplines, there are similarities between the optimization of artwork and scienti#c experiments.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Alexander Hoyles Normative #eld

Steel, automotive paint, vinyl, electrical component Dimensions variable

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Veema Lodhia and Alexander Hoyles

Veema is speci#cally investigating auditory mechanisms related to local/ global processing and bo!om-up/ top-down processing in autistic spectrum disorder /Asperger’s. Similar impairments have been identi#ed in vision research; we would like to see if the same kind of impairments are seen in hearing research. "is research combines the use of high-density electro-encephalography and a particular type of Dichotic Pitch; that allows us to measure various binaural auditory processes and their related electrophysiological components.

Too many people speaking in a crowded room. It becomes hard to pick out any one conversation. !e voices become a drone, an overbearing wall of sound. On the other hand, it seems, when exposed to indistinguishable noise, the brain will create identi#able tones from the nothingness. For all of us, but especially those who are autistic, any stimulus can become too much, swamping us and making us feel like we are drowning, su%ocating, being deafened or blinded.

However, these same stimuli can, through focus and learnt tasks become calming, normalised, almost medita-tive. Psychology has always been of particular interest to me, and though my research partner has a fairly precise area of interest, we found it easy to discuss the widespread implications of her hypothesis.

I found that discussion/observation of the process of psychological testing was deeply interesting and also found myself fascinated with notions of unprocessed stimuli.

My collaboration experience with Alex was exciting. Alex had some fantastic ideas about how to turn my research into an art form. Alex got to experience the stimulus we use in the current experiment – he did a mini auditory training session to get the feel of what participants have to do before they do the EEG component of the study. In various lab visits Alex was able to view how we set up for an EEG experiment, saw bits of collected data, and viewed how data segmentation and #ltering was conducted. Alex was able to take various elements of each lab visit to create his art work. I was lucky to get a sneak peak of the sound stimulus he had created for the piece. I am glad Alex found the project and the process fascinating. Alex’s art work has captured the essence of the project perfectly.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Aaron King Cole Phases of Acircadia - Lateral Descent 1

Watercolour on archival paper700 x 1000mm

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Joanne Lin and Aaron King Cole

My PhD research project is investigating the e$ects of methamphet-amine addiction on the human brain using MRI, particularly focusing on metabolic changes using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and white ma!er structural changes using di$usion tensor imaging. We are also trialling a potential substitution therapy for methamphetamine addic-tion, with participants entering a 22-week double-blind placebo-con-trolled parent trial using methylphenidate. Participants su$ering 'om methamphetamine addiction are run through the MRI at week one of their treatment and again at week 10 to see if substitution therapy has had ameliorative e$ects on methamphetamine-induced brain changes/damage.

When I #rst met with Jo, I was anxious about using a subject so steeped in media a"ention and public opinion. Once I became more familiar with the processes of her work, I realised I had very li"le interest in expressing any social or political perspectives on the drug.

My thoughts continued returning to a remark Jo made early on about meth-amphetamines in&uencing the movement of blood and water in the brain. !is observation struck me as something com-parable to tidal movements of water on Earth caused by the Moon As other parallels between the Moon and P became apparent, their relationship became more substantial and signi#cant. I decided to express this relationship I wanted to resolve something that would bear an accurate resemblance to both subjects while remaining ambiguous.

My objective became to articulate, in essence, the two subjects simultaneously. !e success of the work would reside in its ability to emulate one, with the information having been drawn exclu-sively from the other.

!is project has been such a new and exciting experience for me because I have never considered myself to be creative or artistic in any way, although I would like to be! It was amazing to watch art being created in response to science – I really enjoyed hearing Aaron’s ideas and interpretations of my project. He came up with concepts and linked them in ways I never would have thought of. It was fun showing Aaron around my o'ce, explaining my analysis tools and the MRI scanner; these things are so ordinary to me because I see them every day, but it was great that they were so interesting to him. I had the same feeling when I got the opportu-nity to see Aaron’s workspace and what projects he was working on. !e whole project was so inspirational and worthwhile – I’m so happy to have been a part of it!

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Lia Kent MacKillop Untitled - ( in series called Long Term

Epson Premium Luster print from colour negative250 x 250mm

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Reece Roberts and Lia Kent MacKillop

My work as a research assistant involves analysing fMRI data 'om experiments investigating a core network of brain regions involved in both remembering the past and imagining the future. Such research suggests that episodic memory in humans has two distinct functions: it allows us to recall episodes 'om our past as well as enabling us to use information 'om these past events to generate simulations of potential future scenarios. Current work in our lab is investigating the functional roles of the separate brain regions involved in remembering and imagin-ing , and the manners in which they interact.

I was paired with Reece Roberts, who analyses data in the Memory Lab, investigating memory, imagination and identity. During this project Reece and I separately travelled to di%erent countries, with my journey directly in&uencing the outcome of the work.

Every landscape has an embedded history, and each in-dividual visiting them will create their own experiences and memories. !e photograph / travel snapshot is something that we all take, hoard and keep for years. When viewing these images we have a multi-sensory response to them: remembering the sights, smells, sounds, and even the emo-tions we felt there. Each time we remember we re-weave the memory. Because we see so many images of places we have never physically been, some landscapes are non-places, where memory blurs into imagined nostalgia. !ese images evoke my experience of a place, moving something that has so quickly dri$ed into the past back into the present. I hope my work triggers memories for the audience, both real and imagined.

I was very keen on being involved in doing this project, as I’ve always been interest in the (o$en tenuous) relationship between the sciences and humanities, and wanted to see for myself just what a collaboration between a scientist and art-ist would be like. Doing basic research can o$en feel some-what detached from society at large, so it was great to speak about research with a non-scientist, as well as hear what Lia had to say about her art and the artistic process. Trying to #nd common ground between her work and my research was fun and challenging, and let me think about my re-search in interesting and novel ways. Overall, I enjoyed the times we got together and spoke about our respective #elds and am looking forward to the exhibition.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

David McClunie Marcus

Perspex plastic300 x 210mm

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Jane Evans and David McClunie

My research is investigating chronic stress and the e$ects it has on new cells being born in the brain. I am interest-ed in a neurosteroid which is downregulated by chronic stress. I am looking at the e$ects on cell division, and survival of these new cells as well as changes in subunit composition of the receptor that this steroid acts on. I am particularly interested in the hippocampus, a region strongly associated with learning and memory, where cell division continues throughout adulthood.

I met Jane for the #rst time at her laboratory. I think what impressed me the most was the tiny world in which she works. Neurons, cells and transparent slithers of brains seventeen microns in width.

Due to Jane’s research in a human condition, depression, I chose as my subject a portrait. A$er making a detailed sketch it was important that the picture had transparency like that of the glass slides with which Jane works. I wanted the picture to have a feel that it was in itself a specimen. A specimen be-ing viewed under the microscope and so$ly moving into focus. I also wanted the picture to be built of layers and sections. Having used transparent copies of my initial sketch, I found I was able to misalign sections and reverse complete layers without losing the overall consistency of the image. Just as with neurons, cells and receptors in the brain, this is an image in which its sum parts make a greater whole.

I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to be part of this collaboration between art and science, between artists and scientists. !e project has revealed to me the similarities between the processes that both artists and scientists use. We discovered early on that both Dave and I work with layers in images. For both of us layers provide greater detail – by looking at di%erent layers I am able to get much more information from my sample, while the use of layers brings life to David’s art. It has been interest-ing to see the project develop – looking at scale, and #nding a balance between looking close up at the #ne detail and stepping back to get a wide#eld view of the bigger picture.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Aleksandra Petrovic Untitled

Pen, ink and pencil on paper500 x 700mm

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Kim Wise and Aleksandra Petrovic

Tinnitus: Involuntary sound perception (lacking an external sound source) usually described as occurring in the head/ears)an internal indicator something has gone awry or su$ered damage; o%en within auditory structures or the ears. Ninety percent of people experiencing tinnitus also have assessable hearing loss. Presently, no cure exists. Tinnitus may di$er but many describe it as “ringing in the ears.” Tin-nitus percept varies: From occasional, unobtrusive sound to intense, constant, distressing or debilitating noise(s). Tinnitus severity appears linked to a!ention, with su$erers unable to selectively a!end to other auditory or environment sounds. Investigations include auditory a!ention training toward reducing tinnitus impact.

Kim Wise studies Tinnitus and the various treatment approaches for perceived ‘phantom’ sounds that have no external auditory context. My research focuses around things that appear non-sensical but suddenly become complicated with meanings and interpretations. Her response to my practice and interest in her research reads: ‘!e complexity of the scenes are just as intricate and multifac-eted as the various theories and treatment approaches regarding tinnitus, and as diverse as the individual tinnitus su%erers them-selves. Also, the size of the gramophones correlates to how large and bothersome a problem chronic tinnitus can seem to some people – with navigation through the health care system similar to lugging over-sized musical equipment up a ladder.’

During our #rst meeting, we were provided with obsolete, brain images. !e backside of each aged photograph cleverly featured project details. Each was entirely unique, despite the universality of our subject ma"er(the brain. !ere ensued a combination of passion for individual work focus (as artist or researcher) and earnest a"empts to impart points-of-view. Novel word-pairings emerged: “sclerotic” and “sculpture”; “paint” and “apoptosis.” Concepts suggested were as distinctive as the people present and the shared, old brain photographs. As researchers collectively a"empt to unlock the mysteries associated with particular brain regions, this project has been a wonderful experience and reminder of why we do what we do; the bene#ciary of our research is o$en a human being; an indi-vidual. !e method whereby collaborative artist Aleks Petrovic found inspiration in my tinnitus research(toward creating a unique, intensely and intricately beautiful work of art(has been a poignant reminder of this.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Dane Taylor "e looking glass

Digital collage148 x 210mm

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Amy Smith and Dane Taylor

I am researching the role of immune cells in the brain. "e main type of immune cells in the brain are called microglia. A decade ago li!le was known about the role of immune cells in the brain and it was widely accepted that microglia activation was detrimental. We now know that microglia can be both good and bad for the health of other brain cells. I am investigating the proteins that these important cells express and the interactions that they have with other brain cells. Bet-ter understanding of the function of microglia will help us to be!er understand the processes occurring in the normal brain as well as during neurodegenerative diseases.

Source of male arousal lies between the ears too.(VANCOUVER SUN editorial MAY 20, 2008)Anyone who has listened to a routine by a stand-up com-ic knows what men want… a woman pleasing to the eye but perhaps not so stimulating to the mind… But new research suggests that these stereotypes are just that… lead author Erick Janssen… and his co-authors formed six focus groups involving 50 men between 18 and 70, and asked the subjects about sexual desire and arousal… And get this - many described intelligence as “really at-tractive” and “a big turn-on.” One can only imagine what e%ect this newfound knowledge will have on the women’s magazines, which might now have to include primers about the theory of relatively in their articles about how to please a man…

!is collaboration of art and neuroscience has opened my eyes to the di%erent ways that people perceive sci-ence. I think that the works created for this exhibition show the beautiful links between science and art, two things which are most o$en kept separate in peoples’ minds, including my own. !is project has allowed me to take a step back from my research and see it through someone else’s eyes. Together we were able to recreate it into something that expresses the same research ideas but from a di%erent perspective. It stimulated interesting discussion about the similarities and di%erences between neuroscience research and art, and a realisation that the brain is both the source of art production and the ap-preciation of art.

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Amy Unkovich Untitled

Watercolour on paper1050 x 830mm

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Amelia Van Slooten and Amy Unkovich

Neurological disorders that alter an individual’s ability to walk, speak or perform cognitive tasks are extremely debilitating. We now know that the adult brain possesses stem cells which can mi-grate to regions of damage and form neurons to replace those that are lost due to injury or disease. My research aims to enhance this self-repair process following stroke. I am investigating the e$ect of blocking Connexin43, a protein in the brain, on the number of new neurons and in&ammatory cells in a model of stroke. "is is achieved through the use of histological staining and &uorescence microscopy.

When we were #rst given the opportunity to participate in ‘Do you mind?’, I was intrigued by the novelty of this col-laboration. I was curious about how someone not familiar with scienti#c research would interpret what I was doing and I had no knowledge of how an artist might approach a new project. !rough my pairing with Amy, I discovered that there are similarities between artistic and scienti#c processes. We both carry out research to gain ideas and inspiration and have to do quite a bit of experimentation before we are ready to start the “real” a"empt! I really enjoyed sharing my passion for neuroscience and I am excited about the messages Amy has taken out of her laboratory visit. How these will relate to the #nal artwork I do not yet know - we decided to leave the unveiling for opening night and I am eagerly anticipating the exhibition!

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Artist’s Response

Scientist’s Response

Incorporeal:1. not composed of ma"er.2. of immatetrial beings.3. having no physical existence.Prolegomena:1. a preliminary discussion, espe- cially a formal essay introduc- ing a work of considerable length or complexityPanchromatic:1. sensitive to all visible colours of the spectrum.2. any combination or selection of a specied number of things from a larger group.Illustrative:1. serving as an explanation or example.

Permutation:1a. an ordered arrangement or grouping of a set of numbers, items, etc.1b. any one of the range of possible groupings.Medley:1. a mixture of various types or elements.Innite:1. boundless, endless.2. Innumerable; very many.3. Greater than any assignable quantity or countable number.4. (of a series) that may be continued inde#nitely.

Do You Mind? Team

Megan Dowie is a neuroscientist based at the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland. Since completing her PhD in Pharma-cology in 2009 Megan has been a Research Fellow in the Receptor Signalling Laboratory, supported by a Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust Post-Doctoral Research Award. Her current research is investigating a cannabis-like signalling system in the brain, in particular in the neuro-degenerative condition Huntington’s disease. Megan has published in international journals including Neu-roscience, !e Neuroscientist and Pharmacology and !erapeutics.

When not wearing a lab coat at work Megan also participates in public engagement activities. She has been on the organising commi"ee of the Auckland Brain Bee Challenge neuroscience competition for teen-agers since 2007 and has assisted with very successful Brain Aware-ness Week public open days. Do You Mind? is Megan’s #rst science-art col-laborative project.

!e Busy Nice could loosely be described as a creative agency. !is agency primarily represents the varying creative interests of Erin and Leah Forsyth, the good friends and sisters who set it up. !e Busy Nice secondly represents the values this pair felt were integral to continuing art and art event management with heart. It is fair to say it could not be described as a corporate identity; a family business would be a far be"er description.

A$er sometime gaining experi-ence both as artists and as curators, the two sisters decided it was time to do away with the frustrations of talking to, or, being the middleman and instead be the men. But, it just so happened they are the ladies.

A project-based approach was decided upon to nurture potential. Keeping it open and professional has so far allowed exhibitions, studios, installations, and publications to develop. !is creative control means that collaborative artists are assured their best interests are that of the business.

With a love for lowbrow, honest folk, cra$, and cra$smanship !e Busy Nice could best be described as a perpetual patchwork? Each stitch, each project de#nes its whole, telling stories of a business as busy as it is nice. thebusynice.tumblr.com

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"e Centre for Brain Research is a unique partnership be-tween world-class scientists, skilled clinicians and dedicated communities. Led by renowned neuroscientist Professor Richard Faull and neurologist Professor Alan Barber, the Cen-tre exists to #nd and develop new treatments for brain disease. !e Centre is located within !e University of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest provider of medical and biomedical research. It is renowned as one of the top-ranked universities in the world and internationally recognised for its neuroscience re-search. More than 200 researchers from across the University tackle di%erent aspects of brain research; from the gene, to the cell, to the mind. Our neuroscientists boast world-class ex-pertise in key areas such as neurodegeneration, neurogenesis, neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, regeneration and recovery. Working with the researchers are the leading neurologists, neu-rosurgeons and physicians from the Auckland regional District Health Boards, alongside community non-governmental or-ganisations. Our scientists, doctors and community specialists work at every level; from the laboratory to the clinic to wh)nau and community. By working together we aim to provide a brighter future for people and families with brain disease. !e brain is one of the last frontiers of medical research and one of the most challenging areas in medicine. Yet the brain is more than biology; it is everything that we are, everything we do and the seed of everything we create. By unlocking the secrets of the brain we learn more about ourselves, who we are and our future. !e Centre for Brain Research is proud to be celebrating the beauty of the mind with this exciting science-art collaboration.

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Artist and ResearcherBiographies

Lucy Goodman I work as a Research Assistant at the Visual Neuroscience Research Laboratory (VNRL) within the Centre for Brain Research, under the supervision of Dr. Ben !ompson.

I have a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Neuroscience and am interested in learning about how the brain can adapt to change. I have worked in a range of neuroscience fields, including adult stem cel ls and childhood brain cancer. I also have qualifications in S c i e n c e Co m m u n i c at i o n .

Sophie Bannan Sophie is an artist from Christ-church currently working in Auckland. Her recent artwork re&ects her interest in the history of performance art, feminism and social activism and ques-tions the privilege of high art over marginalised craft. In this respect her practice acts as a plat-form for dialogue between insti-tutions. Sophie was Co-Founder and Director of artist-run space 448 Gallery and has recently exhibited in group shows at !e High Seas (Auckland), High Street Project (Christchurch) and ProjectSpace B431 (Univer-sity of Auckland).

Melanie Bell Melanie Bell completed her BFA Hons at Elam in 2009, where her #nal presentation was based in edited found video, ghost hunt-ing expeditions and abstract painting. She is interested in the relationships between theory, research and creative practice, and in the way concepts can be used or applied both liter-ally and theoretically. She is currently co-curator for Win-dow gallery at the University of Auckland, and is also editing a collection of writing about love, to be published as a journal early next year.

Valerie van MulukomValerie van Mulukom is a PhD student from the Netherlands doing research in the psychol-ogy department on the cogni-tive neuroscience of imagination and memory. She came to New Zealand after having finished a two-year research Masters in Linguistics in Utrecht, The Netherlands. There, she also studied some art history, philos-ophy and anthropology, knowl-edge which she now wishes to combine into an overarching PhD project on imagination and its rami#cations in art, creativity, language and evolution.

Sarina Iwabuchi I am part of the Cognitive Neu-roimaging, Neuroplasticity and Neurodevelopment Lab at the Department of Psychology, with a focus on brain asymmetries and neuroimaging techniques, under the supervision of Asso-ciate Professor Ian Kirk. While born and bred in Auckland,

I completed my undergradu-ate degree at the University of Canterbury before embarking on postgraduate studies back in Auckland. Outside of research, I have a mild obsession with #lm and music along with a new-found love for photography.

Estella Castle Estella Castle is an emerging art-ist who lives and works in Auck-land. Castle is currently enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts at the Auckland University of Technology. She has won the Takapuna Art Sup-plies Figurative Painting Award (2010, the Studio Art Supplies Painting Award (2009) and the Artists Alliance Award (2006). Estella Castle is represented by Rob Garrett Contemporary Fine Art.

Julie!e Cheyne Juliette Cheyne is a Post-doc-toral Research Fellow in Dr Jo-hanna Montgomery’s lab in the Physiology Department. Her research focuses on the hippo-campus, which is a region of the brain that is crucial for learning and memory. She is particularly interested in the connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons), which are known to undergo changes (synaptic plas-ticity) when learning occurs. Julie"e has presented her work at international conferences in-cluding the Forum of European Neuroscience and has published in international journals in-cluding Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and the Journal of Neuroscience.

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tTimothy Chapman Provoked by objects and media of the everyday, Timothy Chap-man’s multidisciplinary practice is concerned with the exposure of social conventions and ide-ologies through the universal language of the commodity. Em-ploying the familiarity of found material, humour, and the sim-plicity of childhood play, Chap-man uses the back door to sneak up on complex social issues, such as contemporary ideolo-gies of masculinity and the role of violence in ‘civilised society’.

Timothy Chapman graduat-ed from Elam School of #ne arts in 2008 and is currently a prac-ticing artist in Auckland City.

Pritika Narayan Pritika graduated with a Bach-elor in Biomedical Science in 2004 (Victoria University of Wellington), and has since worked /studied in Professor Mike Dragunow’s lab (Depart-ment of Pharmacology, Univer-sity of Auckland). She is cur-rently a #nal year PhD student at the Centre for Brain Research. At this early stage in her career she has already published 10 peer-reviewed articles in inter-national science journals. Pritika is supported by the Seelye Trust and National Research Centre for Growth and Development.

Mei Cooper Mei Cooper studies at Elam School of Fine Arts and thinks about how theories, generalities and particulars converge and disperse. She looks for both contradictions and a sense of metaphysical occasion amongst found dialects of high art, popu-lar culture and cra$ practice as they appear in contexts of the ever yday. Making painting , sculpture and video work Mei works by pairing wayward poet-ics to speci#c traditions. She is currently included in Artspace’s 2010 new artist show.

Carolyn Wu Carolyn Wu is a PhD candidate in the Psychology Department studying music perception and its inherent relationship to ac-tion; we move to music and move to produce music. She studied Piano Performance at the University of Auckland’s School of Music whilst also completing a science degree, and now is combining her inter-ests by researching music cogni-tion and perception in the #eld of neuroscience.

Rita Godlevskis Rita Godlevskis is an indepen-dent photo-based creative media artist. A graduate of the Ryerson Image Arts program in Toronto, Canada she also holds a Masters in Creative Media from RMIT University, Melbourne, Austra-lia and has exhibited her photo based work widely throughout Canada, the United States and Australia.

Solo exhibitions of note include !e Harbourfront cen-tre Gallery (Toronto, Canada, 2009), VU, Centre de Di%ussion

et de Production de la Photog-raphie (Quebec City, Canada, 2008) and !e Blue Sky Gallery (Portland Oregon, USA, 2007).

Henry Waldvogel Dr Henry Waldvogel is a Se-nior Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy with Radiology and Centre for Brain Research. He is part of the Neurogenesis and Neurodegen-erative Diseases of the Human Brain Laboratory and is integral-ly involved in the management of the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Human Brain Bank. Henry is an expert brain anatomist and microscopist. He has published his work in inter-national scientific journals in-cluding Nature Protocols, Brain and Neuroscience.

Henrie!a Harris Henrie"a Harris is an Auckland-based artist and illustrator who has steadily built a solid body of work a$er graduating from AUT in 2006. As well as #ne art such as oil painting, she has produced a successful hand-drawn/hand-printed t-shirt range, created gig posters and record artwork, been involved in drawings for television advertising, and much more.

Henrietta’s work combines contemporary and neo-luddite a"itudes, and she keeps an eye on both traditional and modern subject ma"er and style.

Renee Gordon Renée Gordon obtained a Bach-elor of Science specializing in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Auckland. She completed her Doctor of Philos-

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ophy studies in the Department of Pharmacology, investigating the signals a"racting stem cells to sites of adult brain injury. Renée is currently employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland, and was recently awarded a Douglas Research Grant in Partnership with the Neurological Founda-tion of New Zealand.

Tom Henry Tom Henry is an artist work-ing primarily in the mediums of drawing, collage and print-making. His esoteric visions of suburban cults, transdimen-sional secrets, and preternatural phenomenon fit somewhere between magic realism and hoax. Sometimes he just likes to draw trees. Tom is studying to become a master of the #ne arts at Elam art school in Auckland.

Veema Lodhia Veema Lodhia is a PhD candi-date in the Psychology Depart-ment. Her current research topic is investigating perceptual processing in autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). She has com-pleted both undergraduate and post graduate degrees (Honours and Masters) in Psychology (cognitive neuroscience #eld) at the University of Auckland. Her key interests involve auditory & visual illusions, Asperger syn-drome, Autistic spectrum disor-ders, Developmental disorders, auditory scene analysis (how we process sound in the brain), and Electroencephalography and Magnetoencephalography techniques.

Alexander Hoyles Interested in a dynamic investi-gation of the function of the ev-eryday, Alexander Hoyles’ work mainly centres on reinterpreta-tion of scientific and theologi-cal philosophies, and has mani-fested itself in everything from large scale kinetic sculptures to anachronistic photographic installations. !rough the con-struction of abbreviated repli-cas/models of systems, an e%ort is made to transplant theories and rules from one area to an-other creating alternative ‘cross-readings’ for everyday processes and extraordinary events alike.

Joanne Lin I am a second year PhD student from the School of Pharmacy; I graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy with First Class Honours in 2007 and worked as a registered pharmacist until May 2009. As an undergradu-ate I studied the e%ects of Party Pill drugs BZP and TFMPP using electroencephalography, which eventually led to my PhD research, which focuses on rec-reational drug use – particularly methamphetamine – and drug addiction using magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI).

Aaron King Cole Born in Auckland 1984, Aaron studied at Elam School of Fine Arts and graduated in 2008. He has been exhibiting since 2002 and is currently practicing with-in Auckland-based artist collec-tive, Method and Manners.

Aaron’s work is largely pic-torial, working in two dimen-sions with a focus on drawing processes and materiality. His discipline extends to include

sculpture, painting and domes-tic cra$s such as cross-stitch and felting, but there is consistently a graphic element underpinning ideas whose manner is to isolate aspects of generating and inter-preting image.

Reece Roberts I am a PhD student and research assistant in the department of Psychology. My main interests are visual cognition (a"ention, visual feature binding and vi-sual short-term memory) and episodic memory. My interest in the mind and brain extends back to my time as an undergradu-ate student at the University of Auckland studying psychology and pharmacology.

Lia Kent MacKillop Lia Kent MacKillop is a photog-rapher and sculptor currently completing a BFA (Hons) at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auck-land, New Zealand.Lia’s practice draws inspiration from landscape, animals, death and metamorphosis. Her pho-tographic works, in colour and using analogue processes, are usually large-scale and pro-duced in medium format film. Her work shows a fascination with cinematic methodologies, exploring slippages betwixt and between myth and reality, famil-iarity and function. In 2009, Lia was awarded the Elam Prize for meritorious work in Undergraduate Photography as well as the Jean Hamlin Me-morial Scholarship for her pho-tographic and sculptural work with animals.

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Jane EvansJane completed a BSc in Bio-medical Science at !e Univer-sity of Auckland. She completed an honours project at The Lig-gins Institute investigating plas-ticity of the aging brain. She then worked as a research as-sistant working on commercial projects through UniServices, before beginning her PhD stud-ies in 2008. Jane is part of the Neural Repair and Neurogen-esis Lab at the Centre for Brain Research.

David McClunieDavid McClunie is an artist who works mainly in painting por-traiture in oils and charcoal. He is a self taught and heavily tech-nique based artist, in particular to the Grisaille, Chiaroscuro and other renaissance methods. Da-vid likes to paint in small intri-cate and demanding scales and is known for his realism. David is a full time artist, currently expanding his knowledge into different materials, media and concepts.

Kim Wise Originally from Arizona, I com-pleted a Speech and Hearing Science BSc in 1999. Subse-quently, a Rotary scholarship led me to NZ for Audiology study. I concluded a Masters Degree in 2003 and stayed (audiologists were needed). I began work for Auckland University’s Hearing and Tinnitus Clinic in 2004. Clinical life has mostly revolved around tinnitus(head/ear sound(assessment and man-agement. In 2006, I gained NZ

Citizenship and began Doctoral study with my supervisor Dr Search#eld.

Aleksandra Petrovic Aleksandra Petrovic currently lives and works in Auckland. She is studying at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland and regularly exhib-its work. Her work is inspired by folk tales, puppets, everyday observations, bad jokes and z-grade horror #lms. She is inter-ested in questioning the roles of meta-narratives, utilising the mediums of drawing and anima-tion, as well as constructing her own o*eat narratives in order to #nd new ways of seeing and storytelling.

Amy Smith I am a second year PhD student at the Centre for Brain Research. I did my undergraduate and postgraduate Honour’s degree at the University of Auckland. I have been in the Dragunow neuropharmacology laboratory for two and a half years. Our research focuses on neurode-generative diseases by looking directly at the human brain. I received a Top Achiever Doc-toral Scholarship for my project on the immune cells of the adult human brain.

Dane TaylorDane Taylor was born in Mas-terton in 1981. His work strays between painting, photography and sculpture. Aspects of his vi-sual language resemble scienti#c models.Dane’s work occupies a space between #guration and abstraction, science and mysti-

cism, the retro and the futuris-tic. In 2009 Dane completed a BFA (Hons) at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. In 2001 he graduated with a BA (Film and Anthropology) from Victoriab University, Wellington

Amelia Van Slooten Amelia is currently a PhD can-didate in the Neural Repair and Neurogenesis laboratory in the Centre for Brain Research at !e University of Auckland. Her re-search, which aims to promote brain repair following stroke, is funded by the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust and sup-ported by scholarships from the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand and The Univer-sity of Auckland. Amelia enjoys sharing her fascination for the brain and promoting neurosci-ence research.

Amy Unkovich Amy Unkovich is a collector and archivist by nature. She completed a bachelor of Fine Art from Elam in 2002 and has contributed to various collab-orative exhibitions within New Zealand. She works with pho-tography and found imagery. !e process itself includes cra$ knives, blue tac, tiny scissors and a favourite camera. Amy cur-rently lives and works in Auck-land.

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