The Brain in the Mirror, 46′ 8″ x 9′ 9.5″, tuile céramique glacé et coupé à la main, © Lynn Basa 2019, University of Iowa Psychological and Brain Sciences Building
photo et video: John Richard
« The call for this work asked the artist to respond to the idea of the brain being the last frontier for science. Artist Lynn Basa says The Brain in the Mirror deals with the mystery of what happens when the sparks start flying inside the brain to make us who we are.
She continues: “The average human brain weighs 3.3 pounds, 60% of which is fat. It is larger in proportion to our body size than the brains of other animals. Within it are 86 billion nerve cells (neurons), the “gray matter,” and billions of nerve fibers (axons and dendrites), known as the “white matter.” The neurons are connected by trillions of synapses. Brain size is not an indicator of intelligence. . .. and contrary to popular belief, we don’t only use 10% of our brain, pretty much all of it is firing up all the time, even when we’re sleeping.
I chose blue for the brain because is the most elusive of all colors even though we are surrounded by it every day. The golden aura on the right side of the artwork is the inspiration and ingenuity in each of us, attempting to tackle what makes us tick.“
To create The Brain in the Mirror, Basa worked with Mosaika, a design & manufacturing company with a fresh new take on the ancient art of mosaic making. Founded in 1998, the company’s headquarters are in Montreal, Canada. They state that the emphasis of the company combines a modern aesthetic with exquisite craftsmanship. »