Breaking the Wall of Neurobiology through Art

Breaking the Wall of Neurobiology through Art 

Global Call 2025 Finalist Interview: Art & Science  

“Musical weirdo and visionary artist” (VICE), Beatie Wolfe has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN role model for innovation and exhibited her ‘world first’ designs at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Wolfe's latest work includes a CO₂ visualisation, premiered at the Nobel Prize Summit; a Brain Installation–currently at Boston’s Museum of Science–; and a Big Oil x methane project which won Prix Ars Electronica’s Golden Nica. Wolfe has also released the world's first bioplastic record with Michael Stipe and three albums with Brian Eno. Wolfe is the co-founder of a major music and dementia research project.

Which wall does your research or project break?  

My project aims to make the complexities of the brain more accessible–a goal that Nusha Askari, Executive Director of the Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, has praised for being effectively realised. She remarked, "It's so rare for someone to be able to draw from and integrate these different areas, which Beatie does so beautifully.” Alongside my other work, this project also seeks to break down the walls that remain between art and science, highlighting the importance of bridging this gap.  Through this project, I strive to create work that celebrates and honours both fields in an entirely integrated and intentional way–making science more accessible and inclusive and redefining art as much more than just entertainment or a ‘nice to have.’ 

What is the main goal of your research or project?  

The main goals of my project are:  

• To bring neurology to life and make complex systems/processors things that anyone can pick up and tune in to.
• To allow people to gain a greater sense of their own brains and consciousness not through explanation but via direct experience, with this experience imprinting on them and eliciting a deeper understanding of oneself and others.
• To make people realise the value of imPRINTING in this digital age and how ceremony, tangibility and storytelling are key to this neurological process and how music imprints on the brain deeper than any other human experience. 

What advice would you give to young scientists or students interested in pursuing a career in research, or to your younger self starting in science?  

• To never assume that anyone else will ask the questions that you think are obvious to ask (so ask them!!) or see the things that appear so clearly to you.
• To honour your own unique curiosity and keep pulling that thread, following it wherever it leads.
• To know that there is no right path but that one fuelled by passion will take you much farther (and lead you to unexpected places) than one governed by convention. 

What inspired you to be in the profession you are today?  

 Life and beyond.  

What impact does your research or project have on society?   

Having now spent many days watching thousands of people interact with this piece all over the world, I can say that the impact it is having is profound–both collectively and individually.  

For individuals spanning continents, ages and occupations, the piece has spoken directly to each of them in different ways, sparking them to think differently while provoking deep conversations, epiphanies and meditations. 

In academia and society at large, it is bridging the ever-widening gap between worlds, fields and societal divides. This truly is a project for everyone: one that looks at the personal in the universal and vice versa. 

What is one surprising fact about your research or project that people might not know?  

More than 500 hours of audio has been edited to create this project so that no two people will have the same listening journey. However, due to the care put into in the editing process, every listening experience will be equally as compelling, surprising and intentional. 

What’s the most exciting moment you've experienced over the course of your research or project? 

Watching tens of thousands of people being moved to tears, laughter, excitement, great revelations, reflections and breakthroughs through experiencing this piece. In my opinion, that is when art is serving its greatest (and much-needed) role in society.