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Sussex brains behind Wellcome Collection exhibition on consciousness

Neuroscientists at the University of Sussex are among the brains behind a major new exhibition on consciousness, which opened in London this week.

A practitioner using mesmerism (Wellcome Library)A practitioner using mesmerism (Wellcome Library)

Hosted at the Wellcome Collection until 16 October, States of Mind: Tracing the Edges of Consciousness, explores phenomena such as sleepwalking, memory loss and what happens when we lose consciousness.

Professor Anil Seth, Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at Sussex, has spent two years working with the exhibition’s curator, Emily Sargent, as a scientific advisor.

He said: “The appetite for understanding what is going on in our brains and bodies when we are conscious is immense. Consciousness is a deep mystery that has challenged and motivated not only scientists and philosophers, but artists, musicians and many others throughout history.

“This exhibition draws on an astounding variety of objects and artworks to show how consciousness has been represented in science, art and folklore, and it also gives visitors an opportunity to explore their own levels of consciousness through innovative interactive exhibits.”

The exhibition is divided into four sections:

  • SCIENCE | SOUL traces the historical emergence of the field of neuroscience through art and philosophy;
  • SLEEP | AWAKE includes archive material from the first courtroom trial where ‘insanity of sleep’ was successfully used as a defence;
  • LANGUAGE | MEMORY looks at how language development is closely connected to the sense of self;
  • BEING | NOT BEING considers what happens when consciousness is disordered through trauma or injury.

Professor Seth, together with colleague Dr David Schwartzman and others from the Sackler Centre, has provided advice across all the sections, developed interactive applications that form part of the exhibition, and will also be hosting talks and events during the exhibition’s run.

Professor Seth also wrote the introduction to Ann Veronica Janssen’s 12-week art installation ‘yellowbluepink’, which opened the Wellcome Collection’s exploration of consciousness in October last year.

Curator Emily Sargent said: “Consciousness is a fascinating subject, as magical as it is everyday. We all know what it is like to be conscious, but it remains a challenge to truly define it. This makes it rich territory both for artists and scientists alike.

"This exhibition examines a range of different experiences from the edges of consciousness revealing both the wonder and fragility of our internal lives.

“It looks at ways in which philosophy, art and folklore have established frameworks of understanding for phenomena like the nightmarish hallucinations of sleep paralysis; explores language and memory as ways of defining the self and discovers how neuroscience is pushing back the very definitions of what we understand consciousness to be in the study of patients previously thought beyond awareness.

“It also provides the opportunity to bring together a wonderful collection of objects, artworks and films to explore this broad, eclectic subject – at once both unique and universal.”