Racking Brains - Big Business

I'm continuing my Brain Project.

A Brainy Idea - City Hall 19 to date

Brain Wave - Distillery District 7 to date

Brainstorm - Union Station  5 to date

Racking Brains - Big Business   5 to date

FIRST CANADIAN PLACE - 2

FCP is the head office of the Bank of Montreal

Inspired by the miraculous neuroplasticity of the brain, this piece showcases how we can improve and strengthen our grey matter. Graffiti-styled descriptors illustrate the conceptual sound of neurons firing, while arrows show the expanding hippocampus. Prisms demonstrate the creation of new neural connections, as colourful neural pathways change direction and travel throughout the brain. Advances in brain research show that we have the ability to reshape and strengthen our neural connections, representing a huge paradigm shift that empowers us to be active participants in our brain health.

The inspiration behind Shattered is a swirly mosaic made from tiny pieces of mirror full of light and reflections. The artist included some vintage pieces of jewelry, buttons and china to serve as a reminder of past generations. The mirrors allow the sculpture the illusion of constant movement and changing reflections. It also forces the viewer to see themself in the artwork, reminding them any of us could become a victim of dementia. My wish is that no one person will look in the mirror one morning and not recognize the face looking back at them.

ROYAL BANK PLAZA - 2

Home to Royal Bank of Canada's corporate offices.

Hot on the heels of their best season in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors joined the movement for better brain health. Signed by the full roster of the 2015-16 Toronto Raptors, this brain sculpture is dedicated to the fight against dementia. Whether you’re young, middle-aged or older, you can make changes now and potentially reduce your risk.

Embodying elements of light and sound, artist Samar Hejazi’s experiential sculpture, Meditation, pulsates at frequencies to encourage calmness and mental silence. Holistic medicine recognizes illness as a lack of harmony in the body, and reaching a meditative state facilitates healing. The experience of the artwork is dependent on the collaboration of the viewer allowing themselves to unify with the piece.

TELUS - 1

Telus, communications giant, head office and main sponsor of the Brain Project

This was the first brain that I found. But the first pictures were terrible, high noon looking into the sun. So I went back to get a better photo.





The magnolia tree and the figure are recurring threads in the artist’s work. In fact, Darlene Cole has a map in her brain locating particular magnolia trees that she visits each spring; some are at farms, others in historic neighbourhoods. Cole sees fragility coexisting with strength and interconnectedness in the trees, and wants viewers of this piece to experience their haunting beauty with a new emotional connection.