the
ARTwORK
artist
STATeMENT
audio
COMMeNTARY
zoom
INTErVIEW
sans titre
Paméla Simard in collaboration with Peter Chipman
Raw wool - 122 x 140 cm
The thread of our conversations revolved around the complexity of the relationship between the mind and the body and the blurring of those opposites.
the
ARTwORK
artist
STATeMENT
I had the chance to come in contact with Peter Chipman*, a neuroscientist working at the University of California San Francisco whose research focuses on neurodegeneration and synaptic plasticity. From the very first time we spoke, the thread of our conversations revolved around the complexity of the relationship between the mind and the body and the blurring of those opposites. As we both contemplated the electron microscopy images issued from his research at the Davis Lab, we wondered: where is the body in neuroscience?
​
The two pieces on display are the outcome of a series of experiments I made using raw wool. Through processes of wet and needle felting, I incorporated designs of neuroscience to a complex tapestry of natural fibers that blend seamlessly. While I patiently worked the wool into a constellation of cells, I could only remind myself of the origin of the material: that very element speaks of the body because it is the body.
​
​
*Peter Chipman is a Neuroscientist Ph.D. at the University of California San Francisco
- Paméla Simard