Dennis Hollingsworth

mental maps

Here's an article that feeds my interest in scale, how technology drives modernity, how we map the world mentally, and how tools become an extension of our bodies both technologically and in my paintings (brushes, pallette knives, screeds, shards of cardboard and ballistic paint):

For example, research has found that brain cells become active as objects approach the space around the body. These cells will fire when, say, you see an insect fly toward your face. This so-called peripersonal space extends to arm's length; people with longer arms have a bigger peripersonal space. And when they use a tool, a rake, a joystick or an automobile, their body schema and peripersonal space expand to include it.

Moreover, perceptions change as the body schema changes in response to outside stimuli. A hill looks steeper when you wear a backpack than when you do not.