the spaces between
2013. 3"x6'. Form of the "synaptic cleft," the space between neurons in which communication occurs. Clay, paint.
When two neurons communicate they must do so via a synapse, a specialized structure in the cell where either electrical or chemical information is passed from one neuron to the next. With chemical synapses, the information transferred takes the form of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine. Like two people talking to each other, there is a space that remains between in a chemical synapse that the neurotransmitters traverse. With recent advances in electron microscopy, neuroscientists have begun compiling a computer-model of the brain, of each neuron and its connections, and thus, of each individual synapse. Based directly off of current research, this work represents some of the shapes of the spaces between.
When two neurons communicate they must do so via a synapse, a specialized structure in the cell where either electrical or chemical information is passed from one neuron to the next. With chemical synapses, the information transferred takes the form of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine. Like two people talking to each other, there is a space that remains between in a chemical synapse that the neurotransmitters traverse. With recent advances in electron microscopy, neuroscientists have begun compiling a computer-model of the brain, of each neuron and its connections, and thus, of each individual synapse. Based directly off of current research, this work represents some of the shapes of the spaces between.
Installed at Visual Voice Gallery in Montreal, Canada 2015
All images © Julia Buntaine Hoel
