Once I had constructed my gelatine brain, I began to reflect further on my progress through a studio critique session with my tutor Mark Roughley and Demelza Kooij. I found this to be most beneficial to my ongoing practice and experimentation. Some key suggestions made towards my project, was the reference to Melissa Fisher’s artwork.
Her piece ‘Cress’ uses a similar technique of a gelatine like substance to grow cress. I found this to be an interesting technique to use with my plant, the bacopa monnieri. With her piece, she creates a face mould and grows cress seeds through a time lapse. I really enjoyed the time lapse process of the plant growth, and this is something I would like to communicate through the root growth of my plants.
Fisher, M. (2015) Cress Experiments
From this consideration, I purchased some agar to create my brain, however in capturing this growth, I would need to contact the art school to use their studio space and time-lapse cameras.
Based on my previous virtual exhibition, there was key point regarding the Bacopa Monnieri plant. Demelza commented about this, and suggested I should focus on the benefits of the plant used today and its current neurological benefits. Mark even mentioned about making green juices with the Bacopa Monnieri plant to demonstrate these benefits.
Referring back to my previous research into Glioblastoma, I explored the use of tumour identification dyes, such as the use of Gleolan. Mark suggested that I could include this within my gelatine experiments, by using food colouring that resembles the substance.
I found these critique sessions to be key in the progress of my project and to gain useful perspectives from other practitioners. After conducting these sessions, I went to purchase some plaster of paris, in order to create a hollow brain that would hold my plant.
I first measured the plaster of paris, two parts plaster to one part water. After mixing, I poured it into my transparent mould and allowed it to stiffen slightly, so that I could brush the mixture around the brain and make it like a dish.
I left it to harden for two hours and attempted to remove, however I began to see it starting to crack. For this reason, I left it overnight to see if it was easier.
After leaving this overnight, I attempted to release it again but it began to crack again. Ultimately the only way to remove the plaster of paris was to break it up. I found that this was possibly due to the ridged structure of the brain.
For this reason, I decided to use my other brain mould that was flexible and therefore easier to release.
Once repeating the steps to make the mixture, I found that it was a lot easier to take out. I did find the blood vessels in the other mould were more prominent, however I was pleased with the outcome. Another question was how it would take when it was filled with water.
These reflections from the critique session and my own experimentations, lead to further considerations of other ways I can explore the visualisation of Glioblastoma.