Neuro Portraits

First Three Images:
After hours in fMRI labs, witnessing complex emotional experiences and aspects of personality being reduced to electrical activity in neural networks, I felt the need to paint these portraits. They show people surrounded by their neurons
and neuropathologies, bringing what is considered hidden or invisible to the surface, while also reminding researchers that the neurons they study are ultimately encompassed by people. While I was in love with the research and neuroimaging, I also felt the need to reconnect the neural to the personal.

Images with Goldfish:
Referencing the popular phrase “goldfish memory” to suggest memory loss, I moved away from depicting neuroimaging as seen in labs. Brightly colored goldfish that circle the subject’s heads like vultures represent the memory loss that is characteristic of senile dementia. Faced with the somewhat fatalist attitude that accompanies diagnosis of dementia, I aim to portray neurodegeneration with a lighter heart than neuroscience. Goldfish have become a motif in my visual vocabulary since my first dementia portrait. They symbolize the circularity of human cognition; our highest cognitive capabilities are absent in infancy, peak in the middle of life, and then decrease with age. Accepting this circularity has brought me peace and serves as a reminder of the ephemeral condition of our capability to remember.

Last Two Images:
When our brains aren’t actively occupied, a neural network called the Default Mode Network activates. The DMN turns our attention inward and is responsible for rumination, day dreaming, imagining other’s thoughts and future projections. Influenced by Kehinde Wiley’s patterned backgrounds that interact with his subjects, I painted veils of neurons representing the DMN. To the left, the veil covers a projection of self, showing how this neural network allows us to reflect on ourselves. Below, a neuron veil is delicately being pulled towards the subject's mouth while she stares off into space, hinting at a tender daydream occupying her thoughts.