"The “rooms” are invaded by figurative structures that represent the architecture of a state of mind , at a time(T), described as precisely as possible. This architecture is based on a dynamical system that represents the biological structures of the brain, working together to build self, consciousness, imagination etc."

I wanted to start this small post on Giovanni Casu by quoting one (freely adapted) of his text accompanying a piece that he will contribute to art@HBM - neurocartographies. I am aware that not everybody has (yet) started to study resting-state, but for all the crazy people out there that do, this text must trigger strong and lasting echos. If you believe that to rest is to think about nothing, please sit, breathe, relax, and please, please, try to "think about nothing"  (...) See what I mean ?

The flow of spontaneous thoughts is a fascinating maelstrom that makes resting-state a puzzling, elusive field of study. To second Giovanni, I can confirm that some research groups are definitely trying to capture the structure of this flow using elaborate mathematical models of dynamical systems. The greatest challenge when investigating resting-state activity is to pinpoint what thoughts actually pass through our minds. To date, and despite all the imperfections and bias, we are bound to rely on introspection. So I can only be deeply grateful when artists like Giovanni step up and offer us such a vivid window into resting-state. This is both inspiring and exciting.

Giovanni  is an artist and curator based in Berlin. Through painting, he's mixed figurative figures with more abstract, sometimes digital constructs.

His contribution to art@HBM is going to take us away from the brain for a little while to let us dive deep into the mind.

This may be the last art@HBM teaser, as I am going to attend the brain connectivity workshop next week and we're only a couple of days away from HBM. See you all very soon ! Pierre Bellec & The Neurobureau