Kelsey Brookes: Mescaline(Cobweb Formation)
Current exhibition
Overview
photo: Philipp Scholz Rittermann
Now on view at ONE is a 2020 painting by Kelsey Brookes: Mescaline(Cobweb Formation). Emerging from his series of Veils and Form Constants, Brookes explores a concept developed by Heinrich Klüver, a psychologist who studied recurrent patterns observed by users of mescaline during hallucinations, near-death experiences and other altered states of consciousness. In addition to producing hallucinations characterized by highly saturated colors and vivid imagery, Klüver noticed that mescaline produced recurring geometric patterns in different users. Under these conditions, four basic patterns of visual perception emerged: tunnels, spirals, lattices and cobwebs. Rooted in our collective unconscious, these have become templates for Brookes to overlay with the exact shapes of drug molecules and grant access to such visual experiences.
Often characterized by the influence of his early years as a molecular biologist, Brookes bridges the worlds of art and science by showing the dichotomy of each discipline. His practice takes ideas and forms found in molecular structures, number sequences, and logic, and grants non-scientists access to the invisible world of atoms, which make up everything that ever has been or will be. Brookes has had solo exhibitions in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, London and Berlin and his work lives in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation. He lives and works in San Diego, CA.
ONE
1955 Julian Avenue
San Diego, CA 92113
viewable tu-sat 11am-4pm
Selected Works
