Catalogue Through the Looking Glass

Last year, Antye Guenther investigated brain metaphors and questionable conceptualisations of the brain and its workings. ‘Knowledge as a trophy’ deals with two metaphors of the brain; the brain as a vessel or container, and brain activity as sparked electricity that is lightening up. Guenther developed the ceramic brain vases last year as part of a collaborative project with neuroscientists in Maastricht and during a ceramic residency in Arita, Japan. Her brain was scanned, the MRI brain data given to her so that she could process it in scientific 3D visualisation software into ‘reconstructed technobrain bodies’.

Through the Looking Glass shows a brain vase set with a site-specific, seasonal flower arrangement. The flower arrangement is inspired by the ikebana way - the vase, the stems, leaves and branches, but also the flowers, are part of the entire composition. During her residency, Guenther took these flower arrangement lessons, to play with the idea of the brain as a container, and to fill her brains with water and flowers only. The flowers are a reflection of the fragile transience of these unstable times.

Read more on