Incognisant

Karllo McHenry, Hobart City High School

In collaboration with Samantha Bramich, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, UTAS

Artist’s Statement

Over the course of the past few months, I have worked with Sam, a sleep scientist, who has been studying the behaviour of sleep disorders and their relation to brain diseases: including both dementia and Parkinson’s disease. She is researching a REM sleep disorder by the name of Isolated REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder (iRBD) — which has been found to be linked to neurological disorders.

During my time with Sam at CoLab, I found myself inspired by the physical aspect of iRBD, which typically includes the violent movement of limbs during sleep. I have captured this via the casting of my own hands, structured in a sense that portrays a blank, dream-like canvas — the outer layer (a sheer nylon material) torn by the implication of consciousness even in slumber.

Regarding my prior knowledge on such topics, I have been taught much more than I had initially expected; Sam’s research is truly phenomenal despite only obtaining such little information so far. I wish to represent this extraordinary discovery creatively through art, and to shed some light upon this unnoticed condition.