SOPHIA CHRISTIE
POD PROTOTYPES
NET
LATEX
WAX
CLAY
WORBLA
Following Metamorphosis, my supply of leaves was limited and I wanted to find a less time-consuming method. It was time to move on to a material which gave me more scope for development and experimentation.
The success of Metamorphosis had been due to the transparency and fragility of the porous skeletal structure. Therefore, a synthetic equivalent was voile netting and sheer organza fabrics.
Initially I replicated the latex technique however, the synthetic fabric was more unforgiving than the leaf skeletons and imperfections were easily seen. It was also far more difficult to gain the correct coverage of latex.
During this experimental phase, I explored different forms of ‘capsules’ as I had greater freedom to adapt the shape and size of the capsule.
The net used in my work reflects the fragility and porosity of the brain.
Absorbing, sieving and processing new information, thoughts and memories.
How the brain selects what to remember and what to forget is a mystery however, even when information is lost, a trace of the memory remains.
‘Yet what is forgetfulness but absence of memory? When it is present, I cannot remember. Then how can it be present in such a way that I can remember it?’ Augustine in Book X of the Confessions
These net and latex pods resemble the traces of a memory.
They are thin, semi-transparent, porous, fragile and delicate. By layering different traces, I am able to show how memories can be overwritten and adapted.
‘Forgetting is attributed to an overwriting or masking of old information by new’ . Laudauer
They form a sort of specimen of what has been forgotten. It is crucial that they are transparent but empty so that they can be viewed and inspected for their contents.
The viewer attempts to find the memory by searching the interior of the pod and therefore they act out the process of forgetting. The lack of objects prevents the work from being too illustrative and personal and allows for greater interpretation.
My decision making and choice of materials at this stage was guided by my initial research into memories which indicated that memories are not preserved perfectly, but are changed every time they are recalled.
Memories are UNSTABLE, MALLEABLE, FLEXIBLE, MOLTEN and ELASTIC. These qualities are reflected in my choice of materials: flexible fabric and malleable latex.
Layering experiment, net and latex.
Displayed on a plinth for external examiner exhibition.
Net pods with internal plastic structure.
Experimenting with connections between memories.
I have used latex as a metaphor for the flexibility of the brain and the ability of neurons to shape-shift, mutate and be imprinted with new information.
It is self-adhesive which allows connections to be made easily and capsules can therefore be constructed in the same way as thoughts.
In these examples I have manipulated sheets of latex, imprinting and squeezing them to create flexible pod-like structures which bear the marks of their construction.
My method of making was analogue - my actions left their trace on the latex and this was imprinted on the surface.
I experimented with different structures to give the latex strength and the different forms I created represented the ever changing nature of memory.
Latex is a very difficult material to work with. It decays and yellows over time, becoming brittle. It also erodes the structures underneath and rusts metal.
Memory: A Very Short Introduction by Jonathan K Foster
Memory: Fragments of a Modern History by Alison Winter
Metaphors of Memory by Douwe Draaisma
During this period of experimenting with different materials, I was reading three books (above) which introduced me to some of the traditional theories about memory.
Jonathan K Foster and Douwe Draaisma summarise Plato's view that memory is like a wax tablet onto which impressions would be made or encoded and subsequently stored so they can be retrieved at a later time.
'We have impressions as if memory were a block of sealing wax into which a signet ring is pressed. Some events are 'etched' on our memories, as if the memory itself were a surface for engraving upon. What we wish to retain we have to 'imprint'; what we have forgotten is 'erased' '. Draaisma
Throughout history, philosophers and theorists have referred to the processes of the brain and memory in the form of metaphors. The use of each metaphor correlates to contemporary methods of information storage; therefore recording information on wax or clay tablets is one of the earliest examples of a memory metaphor.
Other examples of memory metaphors include libraries, aviaries, museums, labyrinths and magic slates. More recent metaphors include hard drives, holograms or video recordings.
Socrates continues the wax metaphor to explain why some people may have a poorer memory than others. Those with a good memory have mental wax which is 'deep, plentiful, smooth and worked to the right consistency'. Whereas those with a poor memory have wax that is too soft for impressions to remain.
Aristotle infers that memories are literally stamped into the body leaving a material trace.
The wax metaphor was in continual use until the end of the 19th century when it referred to the recording of audio on a phonograph etched into a wax cylinder.
Other metaphors influenced my sketches and ideas.
The Bologna Stone/phosphorus was a metaphor for the brain's capacity to absorb and store light impressions.
'By his choice of this particular metaphor, Hooke linked the sense of awe at the miracle of human memory with the miraculous powers residing in phosphorous'.
Draaisma
Based on my research into memory metaphors I experimented with wax memory capsules.
Wax shares similar properties with latex as it can be moulded when liquid and the surface can be etched with impressions.
These experiments reflect that even though the memories have been forgotten, their trace remains.
I liked the purity and translucency of the wax compared to the yellowing latex however, it was clear that wax would not be a sustainable material to use due to its fragility.
Neuroplasticity: The brain's ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury.
I continued to pursue the idea that memories could leave an impression on the brain so that even their absence could be felt.
I concluded that metaphors describing memories as photographs or stored files were too simplistic and ignored many of the more mysterious processes of the brain that still cannot be explained.
I now know that traditional memory metaphors were also rejected by Proust , Kracaur and Freud, who chose to study their own experiences. Their experiences show that memories do not remain unchanged and perfectly preserved like the specimen in jars at the Natural History Museum.
Instead memories in the brain are changed and reformed every time they are recollected.
I moulded clay to demonstrate a brain in flux and to visually represent the ongoing processes of memory storage, recollection, and erasure.
'The way memories appear and disappear, the way they change and float and sink and swell. Our memories obsess us precisely because they disobey every logic, because we never know what we retain and what we will forget' Jonah Lehrer
I was introduced to Worbla while working with clay in the casting workshop.
It is a thermoset plastic which can easily be moulded and shaped using a heatgun. It can be cut and is also self adhesive. It combined many of the desirable qualities of latex, wax and clay as it could be melted and moulded but remained strong and flexible when it cooled.
As a metaphor, it seemed very apt to use plastic to visually represent the neuroplasticity of the brain.
Worbla moulds of surface of clay pod.
Worbla synapses and dendrites.
Worbla synapses and dendrites.
I was pleased with my early Worbla prototypes.
Not only could they be combined with my pod prototypes to begin to create a web of neurons; they also provided well needed stability and structure to my fragile net pods.
They represented the brain's ability to constantly make new connections between neurons and showed that changing synaptic strength affects memory.
By using a sharp scalpel I was able to create more complex structures.
