Evan Gallagher Design: December 2022

Cabinet of Curiosity

Artist Statement:

Phrenology was a late 19th century physiological science. The study served as a pseudo-neuroscience as the study revolved around the belief that a person's head shape and size as well as the bumps on their head were indicators of their mental capacity in the respective region of their brain. The science was later proved to be false as psychology developed further and medicine improved. However at the time the science of Phrenology was very much a black and white study as many beliefs revolved around "If, then" statements. The artifact on the top shelf depicts a wire abstraction of a brain divided into several sections representing the belief behind different regions of the brain in phrenology. The artifact on the lower shelf depicts different regions of the brain represented by clay pillars with bumps indented into them. This represents the belief of the strength of different mental capacities as observed by the bumps on a persons head.

Memento

Artist Statement:

As a child one of my best friends used to bring his Rubik's cube to school every morning and ask me to scramble it for him. To my amazement he would solve it, usually in under a minute. Eventually I asked him to teach me and with his help I would learn how to solve it myself. From then we would race and see he could solve their cube faster. Since then I have always enjoyed puzzles of any kind and credit my friend for this.

Figurative Bust Sculptures

Artist Statement:

The use of performance enhancing supplements and drugs have been present in sports for decades. Unfortunately professional running is no stranger to this issue. Every year headlines of national champions and world class runners being busted for using PEDs make the news. The two busts depict two figures, one who is using PEDs to achieve success and one who is not. The figure with the syringe in their neck looks somewhat disfigured to exaggerate the use of performance enhancing drugs. From the front the syringe is hidden from the viewer and only visible with a change of perspective.