About this artwork

Palmer has developed a form of sculpture which involves mapping on multiple sheets of glass. Each sheet ‘maps’ a section of the brain, using information from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which the artist underwent at University College London. Brought together, the layered ‘maps’ create a 3D image which appears to float in a glass chamber, and which can only be perceived from certain angles, disappearing when the work is viewed from the side. The result is a most unusual and highly objective form of portraiture with a powerful, poignant beauty. This work is elegant, ethereal, which develops in a challenging way the concept of self-representation.

Updated before 2020

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  • artist:
    Angela Palmer (born 1957) Scottish
  • title:
    Brain of the Artist
  • date created:
    2012
  • materials:
    Engraved on 16 sheets of glass
  • measurements:
    34.70 x 29.20 x 13.90 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 2013
  • accession number:
    PG 3714
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Angela Palmer

Angela Palmer