Sunnydown Synaptic

In 2021 artist Charlie Murphy, electronics engineer Robin Bussell, and a team of neuroscientists from King’s College London worked with students from Sunnydown School, Surrey - an outstanding special school for boys.

Using movement, making, robots and lights we invited them on journeys into neuroscience to find out about their brains + hear their stories.

Phd students and neuroscientists at Kings College led workshops in brain development and anatomy while Charlie & Robin's glass and light installation – Synaptic - formed the inspiration for workshops exploring the brain through electronics, robotics and laser programming.

The boys were invited to programme robotic lasers to create their own light pathways which expressed how their brain activity might look.

This installation was presented in the roofspace of the old Herb Garret at The Old Operating Theatre’s museum London (12th November 2021 - 29th January 2022).

oldoperatingtheatre.com/sunnydown-synaptic-journeys-emotions-brainstorms/

Further info:

Sunnydown Synaptic is an innovative outreach project & exhibition which brought together neuroscience, electronic engineering and visual arts for a dynamic series of workshops with students from Sunnydown School in Surrey.

This project captures the unique perspectives and experiences of students with communication and interaction needs through their own exploration of brain anatomy, cell connections and circuitry using sculpture, movement, collage, robotics and lasers.

The programme has developed through collaborations between artist Charlie Murphy, engineer Robin Bussell, scientists Dr Leigh Wilson, Professor Richard Wingate, PhD students Sally Horton and Sara Ratti of the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders at King’s College London, and language and learning specialist, Jo Wood of Sunnydown School.

The Synaptic installation, created from upcycled laboratory glass and student programmed laser displays, lodged in the rafters of the unique Herb Garret museum, creatively transforms principles, processes and materials used in research labs to illuminate how brain cells connect and communicate. This dramatic artwork showcases how students imagine their own neural connections as electrifying, intricate light trails, drawn with robotic lasers.

The project was designed to forge valuable exchanges between science, art, engineering and young Phd students. These activities highlight the relevance of creative engagement and its importance in understanding and refining the stories that explain and clarify research into Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

Sunnydown Synaptic convincingly demonstrates how science and art interactions can act as compelling and effective vehicles for students to express opinions, feelings and reflections about their own experiences and current research into brain development and neurodiversity.

The Sunnydown Synaptic project is part of the Mediculture Festival and is kindly supported by Kings’ Small Public Engagement grant & the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Team London Bridge, SC1, The Old Operating Theatre & Herb Garrett, Sunnydown School, The Artists Agency & Chemglassware Ltd.

oldoperatingtheatre.com
devneuro.org/cndd/
teamlondonbridge.co.uk
atlondonbridge.com
sunnydown.surrey.sch.uk