Page 66 - Brain Project 2016 Commemorative Catalogue

Steven Nederveen

A FERTILE MIND

Covered with lush greenery, vibrant flowers and a host
of birds, A Fertile Mind is artist Steven Nederveen’s
miniature creation of the mind’s ecosystem.
Vegetation pollinates the mind with fresh life and
ideas, while the birds carry strings of thoughts
connecting one busy cluster of growth to another.
The greenery contains all kinds of flowers, from herbal
remedies and spiritual lotus flowers to the poisonous
berries of the Nightshade plant. A healthy ecosystem
embraces renewal and decay. Problems arise when
an aspect of the system falls out of balance. With the
brain, there are physical and chemical imbalances,
but psychological issues may be equally debilitating.
With a view to disease and trauma, the vegetation that
wraps around this brain can be seen as an invasive and
parasitic overgrowth that feeds off its host.

66 THE BRAIN PROJECT 2 0 1 6