MIND - Sculpture

Student - Alisha Tirmizi

Supervisor - Jonathan O'Muircheartaigh

My project is a 3D model showing the internal and external changes to a baby's head as they develop from 0 to 2 years old. The audience is parents and children who want to understand how the brain develops. This would be an ideal exhibit for parents who are, for example, waiting for their child to be scanned at an MRI unit. There are 2 head models, one smaller than the other in size, to depict the difference in external morphology of children at 3 months and 2 years old. To better understand what’s happening inside the brain over this timeframe, the heads of the model babies have been “opened” in the transverse plane (looking down from above), with a clay model demonstrating the difference in grey and white matter (myelinated and non-myelinated brain tissue) between birth and 2 years. Through interactive elements, the audience can physically and visually compare the baby models to understand the contribution of internal to external changes. Together with each model is a hexagon with text explaining the science presented behind these models. This leaves the audience with a pressing question, ‘How might our perception of early childhood development change when we are allowed to see beneath the surface?’.