A Letter in Mind

This is my contribution to A Letter in Mind; a money-raising project for The National Brain Appeal. 

My idea for this project came from images made by MRI scanners (Functional magnetic resonance imaging). These are digital snap-shots that record changes in the brain and help doctors diagnose potential conditions. They are also multicoloured mosaics which look rather beautiful. So I decided to take this modern digital tool to make an analog piece of art. 

I began by drawing a pencil grid on a board and set about sticking 1,508 pieces of 1cm square paper to it.

Dividing up the squares on the printout and on the board.

Colours begin to build up the core of the brain.

I ticked off each square to avid confusion.

Reaching the skull.

Near completion the image becomes clear.

After a lot of cutting and sticking I scanned the result (at 600 dpi). I then had a high quality print (giclée) made to fit into the envelope the appeal had provided. 

Middle row, second from the right.

Opening night at the Oxo Tower.
Private view for the contributors. 

Final print reduced from the original image.

All the entires were displayed in the Oxo Tower gallery on the Southbank in London. They were displayed anonymously and sold for £80 each to raise money for the appeal.