National Glass Centre

As part of the 'AV Festival 2012: As Slow As Possible'  the National Glass Centre and curator, Sarah Cook present 'Mirror Neurons'.

‘Mirror Neurons’ brings together artworks that linger within transient moments, slow down our sense of perception, and make us aware of our experience of time.

The exhibition includes works in a range of media; digital video and animation, electronics, glass, and fibre-optics, by established and emerging visual artists. Some works have resulted from long-term collaborations between artists and scientists and invite your interaction, such as the work by Canadian media artist Catherine Richards, who worked with vacuum physicists at the National Research Council of Canada, and Simon Pope whose piece, restaged for this exhibition, resulted from Wellcome Trust-funded research into memory with psychologist Vaughan Bell from 2004-2006.

The title, ‘Mirror Neurons’, makes reference to a recent discovery in neuroscience concerning how we understand others’ intentions or feelings through observation and imitation. With art that reacts to the viewer we often watch how others interact with it, and mirror their behaviour, consciously or not.

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AV Festival 12: As Slow As Possible takes place 1-31 March 2012 across Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough. Slowness is the theme for the fourth edition of AV Festival. AV Festival 12: As Slow As Possible is a biennial Festival in slow motion, with some works running for 31 days, some for fleeting moments only, and others appearing to freeze or extend time. Spanning visual art, music, sound and film, the Festival includes over 20 exhibitions and 80 events. AV Festival 12: As Slow As Possible is funded by Arts Council England, BFI, PRS for Music Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Henry Moore Foundation, Sunderland Council and Middlesbrough Council.