Research Catalogue

The intelligence of the hand and Stitch your brain by Monika Auch, M.D. and visual artist

Drawing on her medical experience and her current work as a visual artist, Monika Auch explores the importance of tactility, dexterity and material based making in our contemporary culture. She focusses on the intelligent power of the hand with particular reference to her current artistic project - ‘Stitch My/Your brain’. As research and reflection on the themes of hand-brain cooperation and creativity she developed the project in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience in Amsterdam. Auch thinks outside the box, realizes direct cross-disciplinary exchanges between art and science.
She has exhibited widely, gained scholarships and her artist’s book received an international award. She is actively involved in artist’s and designer’s organisations, is a contributing editor to the Dutch kM journal and lectures and teaches internationally.

At the heart of every research there lies a burning question.
'In my artistic practice based research about ‘The intelligence of the hand‘ I explore the importance of tactility, dexterity and material based making in our contemporary culture dominated by digital tools. Will there be new neuronal pathways if manufacturing changes to using a mouse or a tablet? Are visual stimuli more important than tactile one’s? Does our body have a memory? The project ‘Stitch my brain’ is an artistic exploration and reflection on the reproduction of anatomical images in contemporary printing techniques. ‘Stitch my brain’ strives to be a continuation of the combined history in anatomy and printmaking.' 
 
http://www.conf.dundee.ac.uk/impact8/people/biographies-2/monika-auch/
http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/content/beyond-toolkit-understanding-evaluating-crafts-praxis-health-wellbeing
http://aon.nin.knaw.nl/

The long term research project STITCH_YOUR_BRAIN combines the subjects of imagemaking, visual body identity and the intelligence of the hand. It is an international project where participants engage in both creative making and reflecting about their creativity and the hand-brain connection.

http://www.stitchyourbrain.com/

www.monikaauch.nl