Art and science are often seen as unrelated endeavours yet many artists through history have explored the brain’s perceptual processes in ways that are as much experimental as creative.

Science is slowly catching up, with recent advances in neuroscience shining new light on the mysteries of vision, creativity and aesthetics. Brain networks involved in creativity and aesthetic appreciation have been uncovered and a clearer understanding of the mind’s creative state is emerging.

This presentation by Professor David Alais will examine Austrian born artist Lily Greenham’s work Study in visual perception (1962-67) and show how effectively she reveals the brain’s visual processes in action as well as illustrating their limits.

David Alais is Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University of Sydney. He studies how the brain uses images and sounds to build a perception of the world around us. He spent a decade overseas in the USA, France and Italy working with world leaders in the field and now heads a multisensory research group in Sydney investigating vision, touch and hearing. His work explores the ambiguities of perception, the limits of awareness and the role of inference and prediction in what we see. He is fascinated by the way art can reveal the visual brain at work and show the fundamentally interpretative and subjective nature of vision. David loves to interact with general audiences and discuss the latest insights into the neuroscience of vision and creativity.