THE BRAIN THAT PASSED AWAY explores the dualistic nature of mankind. In a comedic, yet philosophical underpinning, the madness of contemporary man’s plight for simple survival is interpreted by the artist Valentin Korzhov. Sprawled on the floor is a silicon body, mimicking a business man, who’s head is cracked open, exposing his mind and brain which have seemingly escaped via their own freewill. The artist states, “... the brain is poisoned by a shocking dose of dopamine in the chase for bright sensual impulses created by the abundance of civilization.”Valentin Korzhov further draws a narrative between the Nietzschean abyss which contrasts the beast and the uber-man and nihilism; postmodernism, and ultimately a post-man. There is a juxtaposition between the highest form of man (reason, order, control etc) in the figure’s civil attire and groomed condition, and the lowest form of man (animalistic, instinct-driven or emotive) in the freed brain.
The artwork entices the viewer to question our cultural obsession on generating goals, values and successes, while believing we maintain any sort of personal free-will. The work is part of a larger series called “Darwin vs. Darwin”, which has been informed by research carried out by Korzhov, and inspired by various conversations with a fellow Ph.D biologist. Korzhov explores two epistemic (Knowledge) ideas on human progress, first, with Plato with his argument of the immortal soul, and second, Darwin with his Positivist theory of the body and natural phenomena.
