Well, this year's project was a bust. Obviously they never got all their displays set up due to the pandemic which I understand. However, then just put a note on your website so I wouldn't have gone hunting.
July 2020 - Toronto ON
#NoBlankBrains
2020
Bay and King - 4
Bay and King 2 - 3
Yorkville - 9
TOTAL 16/50
I was surprised to stumble upon the brain project this summer, I had expected it would have been cancelled along with everything else.
The Yogen Früz Brain Project, a city-wide Toronto art exhibit, is celebrating its fifth year with exciting, thought-provoking works of art that raise awareness about brain health and critical funding for research at Baycrest for Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
This year’s exhibit of 50 brain sculptures by a talented group of local and international artists, celebrities and thought-leaders includes a curated look back at some of the inspirational works from the first four years that tie into the themes of brain resilience, memory, neuroplasticity, stigma and protection.
Bay and King outside the Royal Bank Building
Natural Elements
This wood and mineral formation depicts a visual contrast of durability between materials: one represents deterioration and the other preservation. The brain holds precious memories and information that need to be treasured, but the effects of aging can cause them to wither away. In order to prevent this, we must focus on brain health and support research to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Sparks
Sparks is about the way we hold on to the pieces of our loved ones who suffer from dementia. As it strips away memory and voice, you watch the illness progress, and sometimes you wonder if the person you love is still there. And then… there’s a spark. A brief moment when their eyes light up, or they squeeze your hand back or maybe they even look right at you and say something like, “You are so funny.” Each time it happens, it’s like a glowing treasure. You collect those sparks and hold them close, keeping them at the ready when you need to find comfort.
Our Hearts Connected
Together, we are stronger. This brain is dedicated to staying connected and linked with loved ones during difficult times. When we “follow our hearts”, beautiful things unfold!
Daydreaming
“I try to maintain a healthy dose of daydreaming to remain sane.” Florence Welch
Whether it's worrying or fantasizing, all of us daydream almost every day! Daydreams consist of little moments of yourself in the past, future and present. Negative daydreaming leads to anxiety, stress and depression, while positive daydreaming can improve your memory and allow you to be more creative and stay hopeful. This piece represents positive daydreaming and focuses on how we are the makers of our daydreams.
I found a few more on a return visit to this building.
Yorkville
Monsters Inc.
This limited edition photograph was taken in Tokyo in 2019. It features a series of colourful doors, which Dankoff thought would be perfect for this project. According to him, the brain can be seen as a series of doors – some are more easily opened than others. Terrible diseases such as Alzheimer’s look to close these doors permanently. Dankoff likes that the doors are painted in bright, hopeful colours, which reflect the incredible effort being made to combat brain disease.
What Do You See?
This brain is inspired by Rorschach inkblot tests, which are used as psychological tests.
This design, however, is not a test -- it is a celebration of our brain’s imagination, intelligence and creativity. The viewer is encouraged to utilize and realize the magnificence of their brain when viewing this contemporary inkblot.
Write Down the Line
When seeking inspiration for this project, Farache looked at medical images of the brain and found that the longer he stared at them, the more they resembled clouds. He began to see all sorts of shapes in the ridges of the brain and lines that formed images of people, hands and animals.
Farache took this inspiration and created an image of the brain that has recognizable forms. His drawing is laser cut from 1/4" plexiglass, casting a shadow that creates a dramatic, thought-provoking piece.
Love Actually
Cornwall creates art to document change, out of love for beauty and the need for diversity. His compositions are brimming with references to media, popular culture, music and art history. The image is of two young adults kissing in a large city, but the camera is so close that the viewer only sees two people kissing. The art is made in a classic comic style with bright, vibrant colours, using screen-printing, acrylic paint and aerosol paint.
Your Brain – Your World
This sculpture is an artistic reflection of a mental picture of peaceful harmonious life created with origami art. With vivid colors, a 3D rendition and serene atmosphere, this piece intends to show the desire for harmony, creativity and peace. The brain’s ability to keep the whole world inside itself, including past, present and future, is inspiring. The brain is an amazing, sophisticated instrument to realize the world we live in, interact with it, create ideas and search for our place in the universe.
Horangi
A lot of Jieun June Kim’s paintings are inspired by Korean folk art. One of her favourite Korean folklore characters is Horangi, the tiger. The tiger is the symbolic protector, guarding against the three disasters (fire, flood and wind) and the three agonies (war, famine and pestilence). During these challenging times, Kim felt the tiger to be a perfect source of inspiration.
of a game 2020
A childhood pastime
As WE go up another WE go down
There are those times of highs times of lows
Within the toss of die our movements our emotions one’s life
We experience a lifting of self and at times the clouds of a heavy heart
The roll of the dice resides within the every day.
Seven snakes and seven ladders and two die trace an inner work
As we participate in the game we experience
Lives of ups and downs and work to embrace the ebb
And flow that surrounds ourselves and family.
Where Is Home?
Rennick’s sculpture is a companion piece to his first Yogen Früz Brain Project entry, further examining memory, home and nostalgia. The piece consists of wood, found objects and acrylic painting to create a dimensional village connected by stairs, antennae and clotheslines. This represents the connectivity of memories, how they become entangled and how they can also sometimes be mysterious and confusing. Our memories of home can be both comforting and triggering, and are constantly evolving.
Growth
Just as plants need oxygen, light and care, so does the brain. Unfortunately, sometimes even when all of those requirements are met, a plant can still begin to recede and parts of it can end up changing or dying off. This is not unlike memories, daily tasks and functions that we take for granted, which can be drastically altered in those who suffer from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other devastating diseases.
This brain represents creativity, growth, optimism and nostalgia.
