Flora: Flowers and Brains

2024

This work is a collaboration between Mogens Jacobsen and neuroinformatics researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani from Kyoto University. Kamitani is researching "deep image reconstruction" from human brain activity, a technique that uses functional MRI (fMRI) and artificial intelligence to reconstruct visual impressions from brain activity.
In "Flora", Kamitani and Jacobsen have created 18 reconstructed floral motifs. Subjects have been "mind-read" while looking at copper engravings from the botanical book Flora Danica (1761-1883) by the doctor Georg Christian Oeder.
All images in the exhibition are based on reconstructed illustrations of dandelions and thistles.

Misato Tanaka at the Kamitani Lab analyzed the brain-scan data for the project. The images are exhibited on a wooden construction with small laser-engraved images of medical imaging technologies.

A limited printed edition of selected flower images is available for purchase from Lucky Editions.

Thanks to:

Yukiyasu Kamitani & Misato Tanaka
Department of Intelligence Science and Technology, Kyoto University.
Ringsted Galleriet
Grosserer L.F Foghs Fond
Poul Johansen Fonden