Susan Aldworth: Transience

Passing Thoughts - Copyright Susan Aldworth, 2013

Gallery talk for Transience exhibition

Back in April I was delighted to film a gallery talk with artist Susan Aldworth (who I met whilst filming for the Compulsion Exhibition).  Susan worked in collaboration with printmaker Nigel Oxley and scientist Professor David Dexter (Professor of Neuropharmacology and Director of the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank) to produce the exhibition Transience, an exploration of the transience of self.

Aldworth explores the brain as matter, and for the first time in history, produces prints and etchings direct from human brain tissue, donated to the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank, at Imperial College, London. Great attention was placed on the ethics of the project, and ensuring that the brain tissue could still be used for it's original purpose of helping with Parkinson's research, and discussion around this, and how the prints were actually made in the gallery talk.

This was a truly fascinating talk to film, and a striking exhibition of beautiful images, playing on the idea of capturing fleeting thoughts, and of the relationship between the self and the mind. For more information on the exhibition, you can download the press release here.

If you are inspired to donate your brain to scientific research to help find a cure for Parkinson's, you can find out more details on the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank website.