Internationally renowned artists including Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Conrad Shawcross, Rob and Nick Carter, David Bailey, Mr. Brainwash, D*Face, Alex Echo, Hayden Kays, Schoony, and Bran Symondson will each create a personal artwork on a life-size 3D fabricated brain for curator Ben Moore’s newest project ‘Me, My Brain, and I’. The exhibition will be unveiled at Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair this October, with all proceeds from the sale of the works going to Parkinson’s UK. Each artist will bring their personal style to the decoration of a brain, creating an unusual yet beautiful artwork in aid of an important cause. Limited edition signed prints of selected works will also be available for purchase at the fair, several of which will be displayed at key London Underground stations including Regent’s Park and Bethnal Green.
Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and affects an estimated 10 million people globally have been diagnosed with the condition. Approximately 145,000 of them live in the UK. Sadly, there is currently no cure and continued research into its causes and treatments is essential. Parkinson’s UK, Europe’s largest charitable funder of Parkinson’s research, aims to increase understanding of how Parkinson’s develops, uncover the best possible treatments and, ultimately find a cure.
Alex Echo
Paul Jackson-Clark, Parkinson’s UK Director of Engagement comments: “‘Me, My Brain, and I’ invites us all to consider our own brain, to visualise it as the source of all the things that make us ‘us’. Our brains curate our lives, on the one hand acting as unique libraries, holding memories, experiences, and skills, whilst on the other powering supercomputer-powered curiosity, creativity, and innovation. Each brain represents a unique someone, a life lived and the essence of being human.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Ben Moore, and Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair, in what we all believe will be a beautiful, thought provoking, and moving creative experience. We are indebted to the incredibly generous artists who are making this possible with a single shared aim – to raise funds for Parkinson’s research and to find a cure”.
This exhibition illuminates that our brains are unique, deeply complex, and beautiful things, containing over one hundred billion neurons and enabling every facet of our daily functioning. Parkinson’s manifests in the brain, impacting each individual differently – it can cause tremors, rigidity, slowness of movement, problems with sleep and memory, hallucinations, compulsive behavior and chronic pain among other serious symptoms. The medications presently available to those living with the conditions often cause side effects which can worsen patients’ quality of life. Parkinson’s UK is working tirelessly to address this by delivering one new treatment by the end of 2024 and a cure in years not decades.
International artist Alex Echo was diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years ago, he hopes that his sculpture “Tremor” will present a truthful visual narrative of living with this condition. He comments, “as your body and motor skills break down and fail with Parkinson’s, every moment becomes an existential experience”.
The Me, My Brain, and I exhibition will be on show at Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair between the 14th and 17th October. Brain sculptures and prints will be available to purchase at the fair and online.
