← All San Jacinto College Gallery exhibitions
John Bavaro’s series, BrainTree, is based on a serious stroke he experienced in 2012. Early in his recovery he had no speech and his arm was severely compromised. A year later he created this body of work based on MRI scans of his brain and carotid artery.
Using an iPad, Bavaro creates digitally enhanced images from his brain scans, and layers them with Images of trees growth he has built in an app called “TreeSketch”
“I realized that the growth parameters, the tropism, and gravitropism of the tree, behaves like the physiology of the human brain. It parallels it in many ways. The branches that the brain takes, directly parallels the growth pattern of a tree. I was struck by the metaphor of re-wiring, or re-growth of connections that had died and now needed to be rewired.”
BrainTree Panel Discussion
Please Join us at the South Campus Gallery (S15-143) on Wednesday, October 16th at 3:00pm for a discussion about stroke rehabilitation, brain science and our current exhibition, BrainTree, by John Bavaro.
Panelists include
Simon Fischer-Baum, PhD
Simon Fischer-Baum is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Rice University. He studies how we read, write and use language, with a large portion of his research focused on the careful investigation of individuals who have lost language because of stroke.
Kelly Anne Barnes, PhD
Kelly Anne Barnes, is a Professor of Psychology at San Jacinto College – South. Dr. Barnes earned her BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003 and her PhD in Psychology from Georgetown University in 2008. Prior to joining San Jacinto College, Dr. Barnes conducted cognitive neuroscience research at Baylor College of Medicine, the National Institute of Mental Health, and Washington University School of Medicine.
Christine Joseph, OTR
Christine Joseph obtained her master’s degree in occupational therapy from UTMB in Galveston, Tx. Joseph worked at Quentin Mease Hospital for 5 years with adults with various neurological impairments from strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s Disease. In 2018 she began working at San Jacinto College – South as an Instructor for the OTA program and Academic Fieldwork Coordinator.
Emily Fens (panel moderator)
Emily Fens is a Houston-based artist who received her formal training from Glassell School of Art and holds a BS in Neuroscience from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Recent projects include Brainbloom at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2019) and Brain on Grass at Lawndale (2018).
