Neuro Blooms: Mixed Media Art by Leslie Holt

February 12 – March 28, 2020

Leslie Holt’s “Brain Stain” series exploits the aesthetic qualities of PET brain scans of people experiencing mental health conditions. Holt combines solid areas of stitched embroidery thread with saturated acrylic paint stains. The translation of digital imagery into the handmade is a metaphor for the integration of scientific data with more nuanced and subjective experience. The Brain Stains combine objective data with a more poetic interpretation as a reflection of both corporeal and clinical experiences of mental illness. These works engage viewers with the science and lived experience of mental illness, but also with the hopes of creating conversation around and destigmatizing mental illness.

This exhibition included mental health resources, reflection activities, and crafts and programs to engage with the exhibition. There also was a pop-up library, created in collaboration with the Art Library at The University of Maryland, College Park, for visitors to further explore topics around the science of brain imaging and art engaging with topics of mental illness.