“On The Mind of a Mouse”

Artist: Aidan Takeda-Curran, Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Western University

Scientist: Paul Sheppard, Robarts Research Institute, Western University

The collaboration between artist, Aidan Takeda-Curran, and neuroscientist, Paul Sheppard, looks to explore concepts surrounding memory recall and differentiation. Sheppard’s research focuses on how the human brain can keep memories distinct even when recalling similar experiences through the study of laboratory mice. In discussion, the work came to explore how a single sculpture can represent these recurrent experiences as a consistent input while utilizing light and shadow to represent the mechanisms at play aiding in the recall of unique memories when overlap in their content exists. The wood-carved sculpture possesses three unique shadows depending on the face exposed to direct light; these differing shadows directly represent the ability for our minds to separate out each unique experience even when handling a similar, or near-identical, input. The work aims to provide a visual allegory for the research being conducted by Sheppard in order to assist in the dissemination of their core investigations.