by Artistic Research PhD Candidates of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Supervisor: Monika Rinck
"between
an unknown beginning
and unexpected end
in no particular order."
Starting as a tool to depoliticise the body/mind, my research investigates the Mind- Wandering state in an artistic and socio-psychological format to discover a new terrain of the imagination—as a hypothesis in emancipating memory, referring it to an act of self-defence mechanism used by the brain to heal itself from the effects of trauma, PTSD and CPTSD caused by and not limited to war, conflict and environmental disasters.
The Mind-Wandering state occupies almost half the time of our conscious memory. It is considered a mental zone of self-generated thought related to a state of unhappiness and an unnoticed loss of Mental Autonomy. The interest lies in memory emancipation. Suppose a traumatised person can free herself mentally by positively accessing her Mind Wandering state through language, where the brain works in a nonlinear way. The advantages of having. a mind that can escape from the here and now are significant in the creative process, thought finding, and the concept of emancipating a memory with a traumatic experience, a present of instability and a future of uncertainty.
At the beginning of this century, researchers in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and philosophy of mind started to explain the notion of mind wandering and its relation to cognitive experience and the essential attitude of creativity, which lies in a system of nonlinearity. Despite the young age of Mind-Wandering studies and the lack of a global definition of the case—narrowly still known as "Spontaneous, stimulus/ task unrelated thought", my research examines the state of Mind-Wandering through creative practice from an artistic perspective. It uses the concept of language in exile and fragmentation in art-based text to challenge ist way into multiple artistic practices.
The current displacement and forced migration state coincide with my experience and the continuous wave of migration in the Middle East, specifically in Syria. This research finds is challenge in understanding the liquified state we experience as people in constant movement and the unending entangled tragedies and conflicts in the region. Phenomenologically, I am studying the Mind-Wandering state and mutating it from the scientific field into the social and artistic field, where language plays an essential part.
The application of language, text, and fragmentation within my artistic work does not signify a state of crisis but instead represents a shift from the centre towards the nonlinearperiphery. The fractal emergence of reconsidering and reconstructing an architextualframework within the realm of Mind-Wandering holds significant potential in terms of an individual's ability to generate cognitions that facilitate navigation within the intricate social world to which they belong. From an artistic standpoint, my research over the past decade has focused on exploring Mind-Wandering. It has involved the development of specific techniques in film, drawing, installation, and art-based text, as well as their corresponding pedagogical applications.
How can we harness this part of brain activity? Usually, Mind-Wandering does not inhabit an area of high interest like the fields of Attention and Cognitive Agency. However, Mind-Wandering is a component of our conscious mental activity and still occupies half the time of it. It can vary and differ from one person to another depending on the psychological state leading to it, whether it is Mind-Wandering or Daydreaming, where my interest lies more in the first than the second. Therefore, the challenge is to find ways to harness this aspect of consciousness creatively so that we can explore another mechanism in the brain about the system of nonlinearity that generates thoughts in the state of Mind-Wandering by integrating it into the creative processes and enhancing our ability to develop new ideas in the mind that are out of its linear way of concentrating. Thus, Mind-Wandering can aid in problem-solving strategies, especially in creative endeavours.
Over the years, I have examined the state of Mind-Wandering as a rich source of inspiration and creativity that unlocks new possibilities and enriches the creative experience by exploring this part of the mind that is highly influenced by emotions and learning how to deal with it. I have developed a practice that challenges the way of using the mind in the creative process in its nonlinear way and understanding its notion, even in a precarious state. Through my works in public spaces, art and public institutions, museums, and participatory events, I have created immersive experiences that engage the mind and body in poetic space exploration. I have coined several terms relevant to my theory in Wanderism is a State of Mind as the concept of one-person cinema, creative reading, the audience as the instant performer, psyche drawing, respiratory art, Submersive Act, Mindscape, Linguascape, language in exile, Linguanarchia, and many others.
In applying a fragmented language that perpetually generates itself, individuals may create fractals of possibilities for reading, interpreting, and managing their lives within a system of nonlinearity that intersects with a linear striated system. This language is employed as a means of both escaping from and healing the effects of trauma in the brain, much in the same way that the body flees its original location. Migration occurs in the brain cells before the body responds to it, forming neural networks that enable us to think, feel, and move.
Nisrine Boukhari studied sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Damascus University and completed her M.A. in Social Design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where she is also currently a PhD candidate in the Artistic Research PhD Programme.
She is pursuing her art-based research internationally. Boukhari has held artist and research residencies at Iaspis/Sweden, Serlachius Museum/Finland, Trapholt Museum/ Denmark, MAWA art residency in Winnipeg/Canada, NKDALE Art Centre Norway, Art Omi in NYC, and many other places. She has exhibited her work internationally and was named “Artist of the Year” by the Swedish Art Association in 2019. Some of her works have been acquired by international museums and art institutions. Alongside her artistic career, Boukhari co-founded AllArtNow, the first independent contemporary art organisation in Damascus, which has been running since 2005.