Clinical studies suggest that memory loss is not a passive process. In order for the mind to move past a traumatic experience, it must fade the memory of the pain felt at that moment. In patients suffering from depression, the breakdown of astrocyte proteins within the hippocampus affects the mind's cognitive functions, resulting in the loss of memory.
My work visualises the morphology of the mind’s decay and loss of hippocampal neuroplasticity through the prolonged effects of a major depressive disorder. It investigates the concept of 'trace decay theory' in relation to memory loss, and the disruption pertaining to the flaws or irregularities in the sequence of memories.
In order to represent this unconscious model of the mind, copper has been worn down over time and each stage of its transformation has been embedded in resin. By exhibiting the loss of neuroplasticity, the work captures an irreversible process of decay; a progressive distancing from its original state.

Dysphoria, Copper plate, 34 x 36 cm

Dysphoria
NCAD Works exhibition 2023, installation view

Resin plate, 32 x 34 cm

Ferric chloride crystals cast in resin

Doldrums, ferric chloride and copper crystals cast in resin
Research
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Magnified crystal sample under the microscope
Teaching Placements
St Marks Community School
Adamstown Community College