A close up of a brain shaped rock. The rock is cream coloured with green and yellow details, it has a crystal like texture.

Still from The Brain (2016) Christina Read

Puninga ToiInstallation

The Brain

Set within a sculpture conceived by Paul Cullen, fifteen video works explore themes of perception, cognition, and the wandering mind.

Curated by artist Christina Read and commissioned by CIRCUIT, The Brain is an idiosyncratic spatial and conceptual diagram of a brain, using video to map questions both academic and amateur.

Situated within a sculptural platform conceived and constructed by Paul Cullen, fifteen single-channel video works explore themes including landscapes of perception and cognition, tangible thoughts, altered states, phantom limbs, the wandering mind, TV brains, dream archives, memory files, and the body in movement. The majority of works in The Brain sit within a construction designed by sculptor Paul Cullen and are made from a combination of scaffolding, steel rods, semi-transparent plastic sheets and projection walls. Works are positioned and grouped intuitively and logically to represent different aspects of the brain.

Participating artists

Megan Dunn, Rebecca Ann Hobbs, Ronnie Van Hout, Laresa Kosloff, Owen Kydd, Sonya Lacey, Colie Leung, Richard Maloy, Michael Nicholson, Kim Pieters, Rachel Shearer, Daniel Von Sturmer, Rainer Weston and Layne Waerea.

Publication

The Brain is accompanied by a publication designed by Split Fountain including an introduction from curator Christina Read and an essay by Ron Sadan.

Installation details

Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery, Auckland
August 13, 2015 - November 14, 2015

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    CIRCUIT is the
    leading voice
    for artist moving image
    practice
    in Aotearoa New Zealand,
    distributing works,
    critical review and
    dialogues
    which reflect our unique, contemporary
    South Pacific context.

    Ko CIRCUIT te māngai
    mō ngā mahi toi kiriata
    o Aotearoa, e tuku
    atu ana i ngā mahi toi,
    i ngā arotakenga
    me ngā whakawhitinga
    kōrero e kitea ai
    ngā āhuatanga
    motuhake o tō tātou noho i te ao hou ki
    Te Moananui-a-Kiwa.

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