Think

You may ask WHY do a performance about a piece of the brain?

Well, I am constantly fascinated by the brilliance of the Human body. After witnessing my own ability to endure and return from the brink of death after surviving the terrorist attacks on the commuting public in London, July, 2005, I became obsessed by our utter brilliance - both in design and function.

I was particularly gifted with the physiotherapy team, tasked with teaching me how to walk again during the many months that I was in hospital. The focus was clear. Despite losing both legs in the bomb blast, I was going to master new prosthetic legs and indeed WALK out of hospital and back into the world. The words of Matt, a naturally gifted practitioner, still ring in my ears - ‘ your strength is in your mind’ and then ‘ 90% of your ability to balance and walk with prosthetics is in your mind, your approach, your belief - only 10% is your physical state of readiness!’. Imagine, I felt like I had just been let into the greatest secret, the key that unlocks everything - I was effectively being told, or rather, educated, into the inner workings of the Human being - if I could ‘THINK’ it, then I could ‘DO’ it - the brain was the control centre.

The complexity and wonder of ‘who’ we are, of our extraordinary ability to learn and grow and heal is something that I like to explore throughout the many guises of my creative practice. Whether painting on canvas or film, creating music, writing or speaking, communicating the brilliance of our body, our spirit and soul is what motivates me.

The Hippocampus seemed like an amazing place to start when aiming to understand more about what makes us, us. Working closely with soomeone who is an expert in the field of Neuroscience, Dr Fiona Kerr has informed our dive into the ‘what’ and the ‘why’.

From our ability to learn and grow to retaining memories and regulating our emotional responses, this amazing piece of our brain deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated.

(Dr) Gill Hicks AM MBE
Artist, Creative Director
Music Art Discussion