Ceramics, Neuroscience & Philosophy: E17 Art Trail Idea Sparks Talk

Amanda Doidge’s latest ceramic work responds to Benjamin Dalton’s question: ‘Do our brains sculpt identity in the same way an artist makes a sculpture?’

In this talk, Amanda Doidge tells us about her involvement in Benjamin Dalton’s PHD project 'Narrating Plasticity' and the experimental ceramic work she has produced in response to engagement with the neuroscientists from the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London. Benjamin Dalton reflects on how working with Amanda and the resulting dialogues between the laboratory and the artist’s studio changed how he approached his PHD.

Please join us to hear about the act of collaboration itself and the fascinating relationships drawn between human biology and ceramic art so eloquently represented by Amanda Doidge in her work.  

About our speakers:

Amanda’s artistic practice is determined by scientific processes both practically and conceptually. Fascinated by how life has evolved from rock, Amanda’s research investigated the chemistry found in the human body that could also be found in her clay and glaze materials.

Previous work shown in an exhibition as part of the E17 Art Trail in June 2017 welcomed a team of astronomers from Queen Mary University London. Their researchers enthused E17 Art Trail audiences with the discovery that more than 70 amino acids have been detected in meteorites and comets suggesting that the building blocks of life may have come from outer space.

Benjamin Dalton at Kings College London, met Amanda during the E17 Art Trail and this latest collaboration was born. Benjamin’s research in contemporary French philosophical concepts of ‘plasticity’ and the ‘plastic brain’ has led him to question: what is the difference between the plasticity of the brain and the plasticity of a pot? Do our brains sculpt identity in the same way an artist makes a sculpture? What stories emerge from plastic (trans)formations, and how can we understand, communicate and narrate plasticity in both clinical and artistic settings? Benjamin will be joining us by video-link.

What is Plasticity? Find out more here: https://narratingplasticity.wordpress.com/what-is-plasticity/

This event is part of a series of talks featuring artists and their scientist collaborators to spark ideas in anticipation of the E17 Art Trail in 2019.

Everyone is welcome. Tickets are free. However, we ask if you would consider a suggested donation of £4 please to help us keep them free while ensuring that we can pay artists for their time.

Idea Sparks Talks are curated by Artillery and are supported by Gnome House and Waltham Forest Council.

More information about:

The project www.narratingplasticity.wordpress.com

Amanda Doidge www.amandadoidge.co.uk