I imagine the mind as a large space - we could see it as a house with several floors, rooms, doors and windows. Each of us would have their own house with a unique architecture that would continually bear the marks of the past and be subject to experience.

This house has 5 types of doors and windows - the gateways to the outside world. If we take the analogy with the mind, it would be our five senses - the five mediums that enable external information becoming internal. 

 

The mind would be this whole house, full of labyrinths and complexities, encompassing the conscious and unconscious self. A human figure with a torch is present in this house. What is illuminated by the torch is the thought that belongs to the spectrum of consciousness. In this metaphorical approach, consciousness corresponds to what is easily visually accessible. What is not illuminated can belong to two sub-categories. What is not enlightened but could be would belong to consciousness (this would even define consciousness in this context). What is not enlightened and cannot be enlightened belongs to the unconscious. Here, the unconscious corresponds to the rooms, corners or even floors that we cannot access with the simple act of willingness. It requires an intensive effort that is contingent on the possibility of accessing it. 

 

The space where the mental sits in is the geographical position of the little human figure. This corresponds to the surface that we can see thanks to the torch movement, or the displacement of this figure in space. This corresponds to the metaphorical representation of what I would call the ‘mental space’. The mental space could be defined as a mood that is one of the driven forces of our thoughts. As simple illustration of what I intend to express through ‘mental space’, when one is joyful and optimist, they would be more inclined taking a positive decision. For example, if a person is in a good mood, this person would be more inclined accepting a request from a friend to help with a task as shown in Thinking Fast and Slow. It might come from a heightened sense of patience or an increased sense of empathy. The mental space does not provide the “why” of our decisions but it provides a tendency in the way one thinks at a given moment in time. Imagining 'mental space' as the geographical position of the figure in space is a way of emphasising this phenomenon, which is not easily graspable as it involves both the conscious and unconscious self.

 

This human character is subject to physical constraints - they can only go from object A (a thought A) to object B (a thought B) by a continuous route, cannot pass through walls and tires when they exert themselves too much. This route can be a repetition of previous routes used to get from A to B, or they can innovate by stopping at point C or deviating from it. This corresponds to the metaphorical representation of a "flow of thoughts" or the way in which we can move from one thought to another. Usually, when one knows something by heart, one does not think about the intermediate stages of the mental process, but go straight to the point. By opposition, when you're learning something, the link between one idea and another can be very scattered. For example, if a pianist plays a piece of music that they know perfectly well, the transition from one note to the next is almost automatic, enabling them to play in rhythm. This contrasts with the process of learning a new piece, where the transition from one note to another is much more discontinuous, because it involves prior thought and an intensive effort on the part of the focused ego to carry out an order.

 

This metaphor that could be called the ‘mental as a house’ or ‘mental as a home’ (which are not equivalent but highlight our almost ambivalent relationship to this space) would be referred as MAH. The MAH does not aim to describe accurately the incommensurable complexity of the mind but rather to shed new lights on some processes that we experience as human beings. The little figure represents the inner self that navigates in the ocean of thoughts, the inner self that despite its while face some inherent constraints. This figure can go from a thought to another through a path that can vary depending on external factors which symbolizes the mental process. The usage of this metaphor aims to extract the self from the immediate thought, to dispel the notion that one has perfect control over their thoughts, beliefs, and perceptions. 

 

The MAH allows us to introduce a topology of the mind - the mind being this multidimensional space that can expand and change over time, and for which we know no limits. Such a structure would enable us to find a common ground where we could meet and communicate about contemporary art in order to construct a reflection on the experience of art that seems necessary to the human condition. Necessary because it shapes and highlights our existence through first our communality and then our singularity as human beings.

 

The aim of this serie of essays is to understand the need for art to shape our home through the metaphor of the MAH. This essay begins with the discovery of arts through our senses - the gateway to the outside world – senses that condition the classification of art. This would direct us to looking back to our evolutionary and historical heritage. This ‘retrospective’ – from the latin retro ‘past’ and spectare ‘spectacle’- would enable us understanding of the roots of any art work.  The ability to convey a story. The way this notion has been abstracted away in contemporary art would unfold what I would define as ‘local universal art language’.  This would present itself as a characterization of a contemporary art work from the perspective of the artist while the object of possession appears as a sufficient condition for a well-defined piece of art from the perspective of the spectator (see Object of Possession). Ultimately, this reflection aims to illuminate one of the driving forces of our vital instinct - what I humbly believe being 'the quest for marginality.'

 

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The aim of this serie of essays is to understand the need for art to shape our home through the metaphor of the MAH. This essay begins with the discovery of arts through our senses - the gateway to the outside world – senses that condition the classification of art. This would direct us to looking back to our evolutionary and historical heritage. This “retrospective” - from the Latin retro “past” and spectare “spectacle” - would enable us to understand the roots of every work of art.  The ability to transmit a story. The way this notion has been abstracted in contemporary art would reveal what I would define as the “local universal language of art”.  This would present itself as a characterization of a contemporary art work from the perspective of the artist while the object of possession appears as a sufficient condition for a well-defined piece of art from the perspective of the spectator (see Object of Possession). Ultimately, this reflection aims to illuminate one of the driving forces of our vital instinct - what I humbly believe being 'the quest for marginality.'

 

This essay will be subject to the impact of time, personal experience and your perspective on such an exploration. Let's begin this conversation, together, to explore our homes through the lens of art's mystical and incommensurable potentiality.