A Neuroscientific Consideration of
the “Mathematical Sublime”
2022, FOAM CONTEMPORARY
A solo exhibition in which Nakano presented her work as an artist, against the backdrop of her research at the Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School. It ran from September 16 to 28, 2022 at FOAM CONTEMPORARY (inside Ginza Tsutaya Books) on the 6th floor of GINZA SIX, Tokyo. Taking the aesthetic concept of the “mathematical sublime” discussed in Kant’s Critique of Judgment and examining it from a neuroscientific perspective, the show explored the human brain’s orientation toward what lies beyond the physical limits of its computational capacity, visualizing brainwaves as art to offer viewers a range of perspectives.
On view were roughly twenty works output with Ricoh’s 2.5D printing technology “StareReap 2.5”: pieces designed from Nakano’s own measured brainwave data, and images generated by feeding an AI keywords chosen to accentuate the difference between human and machine cognition. On the weekends during the run, a reservation-only, paid brainwave-measurement event allowed visitors to have their own brainwaves visualized and made into one-of-a-kind artworks. Exhibited works include Sternstunde 01 (2022).
