Science Gallery Bengaluru’s new online exhibition, PSYCHE, seeks to explore the complexities of the human mind in socio-political and cultural contexts. The 45-day exhibition, in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), The Wellbeing Project and Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent, will be showcased from April 1 to May 15.
Curated by the Science Gallery Bengaluru team, PSYCHE brings together philosophers, neuroscientists, artists, psychologists, filmmakers, sociologists, writers and performers. The exhibition will feature 10 exhibits, six films and over 40 live programmes including workshops, masterclasses and public lectures.
The exhibits trace the complexities of the mind. They are not all about research, however; they speak about the society as well. For instance, the audio-visual installation, ‘Black Men’s Minds’, rests upon the voices of black men who are often missing in conversations on mental health, trauma and stigma.
The exhibits will also feature interactive experiences such as ‘Playing with Reality’, based on the winner of the Best VR Immersive Work in 2019 at the Venice International Film Festival, which unravels what the phenomenon of psychosis can teach about the limits of reality; ‘The Serpent of A Thousand Coils’ gives participants of the game an empathetic insight into the minds of people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD); another participatory web experience ‘Change My Mind’ helps understand the implication of brain implants on the mind.
‘Hamlets Live’ is a six-part performance that explores Hamlet’s inner monologues in a world that is strongly dictated by the real and hyperreal aspects of social media.
“In PSYCHE, we explore the human mind in a most unusual journey where we try to understand the mind with the help of our mind,” says Jahnavi Phalkey, the founding director of Science Gallery Bengaluru. “We pay close attention to both, the maladies as well as the health of our sentient selves. As always, we unpack objects of research inquiry across research disciplines at Science Gallery Bengaluru, to further our mandate of bridging the gap between research and the public.”
To register for the exhibition and get more information, visit psyche.scigalleryblr.org