Elizabeth Jameson

Artist Statement

 

I am a visual artist using my own Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) to create imagery that evokes a sense of splendor when viewing my “imperfect” brain. Inspired by the brain’s ability to change and adapt, my work exists in the spaces between science and art, between society and disease. I aim to expand the conventional definition of portraiture by challenging viewers to see themselves as more than their exterior features and question what it means to be flawed–to be human.

 

This quest to understand the brain was inspired by my diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1991. Undergoing numerous brain scans to track the progression of my disease, I initiated a deep fascination with the architecture of the brain and began focusing my art practice to reinterpreting these frightening, yet mesmerizing images. I further realized that I wanted my images to serve as a starting point to describe the ever-changing experience of living with a progressive disease.

 

Biography

 

Elizabeth Jameson graduated from Stanford University with a BA in 1973, and received a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law in 1976. Her professional and personal life changed profoundly in 1991 when she was diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Brain scans became a major part of the artist’s life after her diagnosis. 

 

Jameson’s work is shown internationally. Her work is in permanent collections of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Stanford University, Yale University, Center for Brain Science at Harvard University, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Services at University of California, Berkeley, the University of Texas at El Paso, Johns Hopkins University, the Center for Art and Brain at the University of California, Davis, Biocomunicat, Barcelona, Spain, and the Basque Neuroscience Institute in San Sebastian, Spain.

 

In addition, Jameson’s work has been featured in numerous scientific publications such as Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology and Oxford University Press as cover art. Her work has been featured on the cover of The Annals of Neuroscience, the journal of the Indian Academy of Neuroscience in Chandigarh, India. In 2012, Jameson’s work was featured in Discover magazine’s “Special Edition on the Brain,”  and a National Public Television special on the brain.

 

Click here for Ms. Jameson’s artwork website: www.jamesonfineart.com