Memory and Mechanism

The sculpture Memory and Mechanism by Maiya Geddes in collaboration with Rebecca Geddes depicts the neuroanatomical underpinnings of memory. An anthropomorphic hollowed mahogany sideboard is cut open and its interior exposed. Like a craniotomy, a silicon cast depicting blood vessels and dura lines the cover of the sideboard. A casting of clocks and piano hammers alludes to time and place cells within the hippocampus. This piece contains twenty layers of painted Plexiglas. Depending on the viewing angle, the brushstrokes appear distorted or coalesce into figurative imagery (i.e., hands or woman at the piano). Memories are not cataloged snapshots of past events. Overlapping brain networks underlie our ability to remember the past and imagine the future. As such, memories are malleable and vulnerable to distortion. For additional images of this work, see supplementary materials (on the Neurology (R) Web site at Neurology.org).