Drawing with myself

Drawing with myself is a project that started with the question: What if I could reach into my head and observe what’s happening in my mind while I’m making art, what would it look like? This intrigued me. Could I get it onto a surface, for example a drawing? What if I could interact with the drawing? The source to the drawing would be the same but the execution is happening through two different channels; one traditional way, my hands, and one non-traditional way, a machine.

Questions like “Would this create a continuous loop, where I’m reacting to the machine, and the machine is reacting to me?” and “Can I observe myself in a different light, than I’m used to when I’m drawing?” would fill my brain and I got curious. I committed to see where these thoughts would lead me and have since January 2019 been working on this project.

I’ve handbuilt a working machine from scratch which collects data with the help of electroencephalography (EEG) at the motor cortex (the part of our brain that controls our body movements), and transfers the signals to a coordinate system. This system controls the motors and directs the pen. The whole machine is suspended at head level height and has a fishing wire attached from the machine to the pen.

Drawing with myself – Artworks in the series

Follow the leader, Marker and graphite on canvas, 210 x 165 cm, 2019

Drawing with myself no.1, Marker and graphite on canvas, 200 x 200 cm, 2019

Person A, B, C & D, Paper, Ink ,90 cm x 80 cm, 4 pcs, 2020

Instead of collecting and using my own EEG signals, I found an open sourced scientific study where they had instructed the participants to move their left hand in different directions. I downloaded these EEG results and used the participants EEG signals from their motor cortex to let the participants draw in my studio, without their knowledge or physical presence.