Iwona DEMKO (1974), The human brain before the socialization process - the silver brain; 2014

Fabric silver llama, polyester filling, plexiglass, LED, glass, board; 31.5 x 40 x 40 cm; base 100 x 40 x 40
Signed on bottom: Iwona Demko
There are three sculptures devoted to the theme taken up by the artist. In addition to "Silver Brain," Iwona Demko created Pink Brain - The Impact of Socialization on the Female Brain and Blue Brain - The Impact of Socialization on the Male Brain.

One of the more decisive and expressive figures of Polish contemporary art. Dr. Iwona Demko is a Polish sculptor, visual artist, exhibition curator, feminist, activist, professor and lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, author of books. In 2012 she received her doctorate in fine arts in the discipline of fine arts on the basis of her dissertation entitled Vaginatism and her sculptural work entitled The Vagina Chapel. In 2016, she received her habilitation in the field of fine arts, in the discipline of fine arts on the basis of her work anioly.net. The work dealt with the theme of female prostitution.In 2000, she was in Toulouse, France, as a scholarship recipient of the École des Beaux-Arts et des Arts Appliqués. In 2019, she received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Since 2018, she has been a member of the Program Council of the Orońsko CRP. Since 2019, she has led the Intermedia Extension of Sculpture Workshop at her alma mater as an ASP professor. He creates sculptures, objects, installations, site-specific works, videos and works in the Internet space. Her work draws on such artistic practices as participatory art, herstorical empathy, post-artistic activities, relational art, artivism. She has participated in more than 160 exhibitions at home and abroad, including the National Museum Poznań, CCA in Gdańsk, CRP in Orońsko, CCA in Toruń, MOCAK. Iwona Demko's flagship color both in her artistic work and private life is - pink.

When we come into the world our brain is sensitive like a photosensitive silver compound. It reacts to stimuli coming from the outside and according to these stimuli it shapes itself and creates its internal images, which influence the whole life of a person. This process is called socialization. In other words: the brain that was born with a vagina is automatically put into a "training program for a girl" , a brain that was assigned a penis receives a "program for boys" ....
Studies on animal brains have shown that when rats are kept in cages equipped with a variety of toys: reels and mazes, their brains develop a larger and more complex nervous system. No such complexity of neural connections was found in the brains of rats that were housed in more spartan conditions or deprived of sensory stimuli. Untrained brain functions become weak and atrophy, like unused muscles. Lack of sensory stimulation at a critical time in brain development leads to permanent damage. Kittens reared in the dark will never learn to see again after a certain period of time.
It has been observed that the behavior of children's brains up to the age of 13 is similar. It has been noted that it is only with time that gender differences in the operation and type of brain connections appear, that these are not innate traits, but develop with age. A team of scientists has proven that the older we get, the more gender differences in the operation of our brains become apparent. How much of what is "natural" is learned through socialization?
What if the socialization program were to change a bit and make upgrades to the "boy's program" and the "girl's program"? If, for example, instead of being taught to be aggressive, a boy would be given incentives to teach him to be patient, caring and to devote his professional life to his wife, children or housework? Wouldn't self-sacrifice for the sake of the family soon become natural in boys who are now adults?... And if the mechanism of empathy were introduced to boys, would it have an impact on the incidence rate of violence?... And if so....
Iwona Demko