I created this work in open collaboration with Rik Ooestenbroek (piece “Self”), which captivated me from the first sight. It sparked my imagination to elaborate on the “mental spaces” – mental models of the world stored in our minds. The concept of “mental spaces” relates to both shared knowledge of the world and individual cognitive models. These spaces are like the Universes with us and our minds.
The collage technique suited best to create the “spaces” – and the line work to connect them. I started the work intuitively by dividing the total space in multiple ones, filling them half-spontaneously and then complementing with details. The four main spaces that emerged in my work – subconscious space, conscious space, space of immediate thought, and body space - (I consider them equally important) are explained further:
Space 1
Subconscious space developed in the very beginning of human life in the maternal womb. This space has enormous power and strongly influences our actions, emotions, decisions.
Space 2
Conscious space with the dominating “rational” part, connected to the shared knowledge about the world. This space defines actions and thoughts within our awareness. It involves logic, categorizing, systematizing, analytical thinking and stores our processing data about the world.
Space 3
Space of immediate information processing via electrical charges of neurons. It is the space of the “now”, with signals sent and received in the realtime, and it is influenced by both “rational” and “irrational” spaces.
Space 4
Body space – the space which is not less important than other spaces. The body space reacts to the impulses received from outside and inside worlds and is also a system in the interconnection chain with the mind.
This artwork is special to me since it opens up the beginning of my deeper artistic exploration of the human mind, cognitive models, and their relationships to the ways we process information about the world, connect with our spiritual selves, and use our rational and emotional sides.
