Ever wondered what happens in your brain when you take that first sip of coffee?” That was the question posed to participants of an “art experiment” by food anthropologist and artist Caroline Hobkinson last week in London.
For many of course, the answer is ‘begin functioning’. Research by coffee machine brand Breville – which commissioned the work – found 10% of Brits won’t speak before their first sip, nearly a quarter put off making breakfast, 13% wisely hold off on making decisions, while 5% won’t even smile. And fair enough.
Hobkinson’s “immersive experience” at Gallery Different in Fitzrovia, London – renamed the Art of the Espresso Café for the day – worked to translate the mental awakening of a caffeine hit into visual form.
Punters were sat down in a comfy seat, made a cup and placed in electroencephalogram headsets, which recorded their neurological responses to each sip. Their brainwaves – which “almost dance”, Hobkinson said – were then processed into graphical form and played back to them.
Hobkinson described the visuals as “depicting glowing streams of liquid energy, capturing the sensation of stimulation as it spreads through the brain”. They looked not unlike stock Windows backgrounds (which certainly should never be seen before a coffee or two).
But every piece was unique to the participants, who each got to take home a copy. “I love what I created, I think it’s going up in my house,” one said. A free coffee and free artwork. We can all drink to that.
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