After a lucky sneak peek at the MENTAL exhibition in 2021, the SIGNAL Curators group were inspired to step into scientist mode and gather some empirical data. We wanted to understand more about how different young people in our community relate to their internal world of feelings. We sent a carefully thought-out survey to our peers, in order to peer into their minds and hear what certain emotions feel, look, smell, taste and sound like.
Where do our feelings live? Where do they go when we’re done feeling them? If an emotion were like a meal, what ingredients would it be made of? How do we navigate the connection between our bodies, minds and emotions? Big Amygdala Energy (B.A.E) is a digital and print zine that riffs on these and other questions. SIGNAL Curators offer twelve responses by twelve emerging artists, drawing on their individual brain power, and inspired by a hive mind of peers: SIGNAL’s creative network of young people, and the SciCurious crew.
We invite you to celebrate the launch of Big Amygdala Energy with us! Pick up a free print copy of the zine, and stay for a conversation between B.A.E artists and art therapist Su Mei Tan. Step into the organised chaos of our synaptic pathways as we unpack the messy intricacies of emotion and sensation.
Featuring SIGNAL Curators: Uswa Qureshi, Zeth Cameron, Teresa Fornataro, Georgia Willmott, Lauren Rosenberg, Aisha Hara, Lachlan Wyness, Sirui Yang, and Patricia Agus.
Guest artists: Julian Cobb & Anita Cummins. In conversation with guest art therapist: Su Mei Tan.
This project was supported in collaboration with Science Gallery Melbourne, University of Melbourne and SIGNAL.
Meet Art Therapist and Interviewee, Su Mei Tan
Su Mei Tan has a dual passion for creative arts and helping others. She eventually found her place in the field of Art Therapy. She has a Masters in Art Therapy from La Trobe University, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Social Practice and Community Engagement at the VCA. Su Mei is currently working as a Psychiatric Family Therapist at McKillop Family Services while pursuing her Masters in Clinical Family Therapy. She is also a trained Yoga Instructor. Photo credit: Bakri Mahmoud.