States of Mind: Tracing the edges of consciousness
Thought provoking
exhibition at the Wellcome Collection looking at what consciousness is from a
medical and a philosophical point of view.
The show tackled
this difficult topic by looking at a range of experiences on the edge of
consciousness. The first looked at the difference between the body and the soul
by investigating neuroscience. This included one man who pressed unexposed
photo plates onto people’s foreheads to see if he could capture thought!
The section on
sleep and awake included a creepy sculpture by Goshka Macuga called
“Somnambulist” of a very realistic sleeping man in the middle of the floor. It
also looked as mesmerism and how other generations have tried to explain
dreams.
The final section
looked as disorders of consciousness either through brain injury or trauma.
This includes the idea of false memories which was fascinating.
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