DATA SHEET
Title / Título:
Inexéresis
Team members / Miembros del equipo:
Ana Domínguez Vicaria (ES) artist/ artista; Eduardo Lavrador Jiménez (ES) artist, technologist / artista, tecnólogo; José Gustavo Chico Palomares (ES) tecnólogo / technologist; Marta Iranzo Navas (ES) artist / artista
Scientist / Científico:
Jorge Tirado Caballero (ES) neurosurgeon / neurocirujano
Virgen del Rocío Hospital, Seville (Andalusian Health Service, SNS) / Virgen del Rocío – Virgen Macarena, Sevilla (Servicio Andaluz de Salud, SNS)
Seed / Semilla:
“Mapping the Mind: Technology in Brain Tumor Surgery” / “Cartografía de la mente: tecnología en la cirugía de tumores cerebrales”
Technique / Técnica:
Interactive kinetic installation / Instalación cinética interactiva
Dimensions / Dimensiones:
210 x 20 x 20 cm
SEED
Over the past 200 years, surgery has evolved radically. In the 19th century, operating rooms lacked adequate anesthesia and antisepsis measures. In the 20th century, general anesthesia, asepsis, and neurosurgical techniques were introduced, which are still used today. In the 21st century, technological advances have paved the way, improving surgical safety and efficacy. In brain tumor surgery, these innovations allow for larger and safer resections, preserving essential functions such as language, memory, vision, and mobility. Technology complements the surgeon’s anatomical knowledge and is key in these procedures.
THE VISION OF THE CREATORS OF THE WORK
Inexéresis explores the limits of human intervention through an immersive, interactive installation inspired by neurosurgery. Born from the collaboration between artists and neuroscientists, the piece draws directly from the complexities of brain tumor removal techniques, particularly from the imperfect, fragmentary nature of incomplete resection.
Inside a dimly lit, pulsating environment, the audience enters a structure that mimics a tumorous brain. The piece incorporates a inflatable module that expands and contracts, lights that flicker in unpredictable patterns, and sensors that respond to visitors, altering the space in real time. Fluorescent pink glows replicate the medical use of 5-ALA, a type of naturally occurring acid used in medicine to reveal malignant tissue, guiding – yet deceiving – the viewer in a futile search for clarity.
The work builds a powerful metaphor for the tension between precision and uncertainty in surgery. While the surgeon moves between light and shadow, trying not to damage vital functions, the spectator is immersed in a similar experience of disorientation and fragility. The installation evokes this impossible control, this suspended life.
The creative process merged textile experimentation, Arduino programming, and the careful calibration of air systems to emulate the rhythm of breathing tissue. Inspired by the organic forms of Eva Fábregas, the responsive structures of TeamLab, and the kinetic delicacy of Nils Völker, Inexéresis is both a scientific analogy and a sensorial provocation: a body open to the public gaze, an exploration of the visible and the unknowable.
CURATOR'S VISION OF THE WORK
This immersive installation, born from a deep collaboration between artists and neuroscientists, transforms the clinical tension of brain tumor resection into an embodied, sensorial experience. Referencing the imperfect reality of incomplete surgeries, the work creates a space where control is always partial, and clarity remains elusive.
Inside the structure—alive with light, breath, and reaction—the audience steps into a simulated tumorous brain. Flickering LED pulses and the expansion of a soft inflatable form echo both the biological uncertainty of malignant tissue and the emotional weight of the surgical act.
This artwork interwins us about How much can we know without wounding? Ethically, it addresses the fine line between intervention and harm. Socially, it exposes our collective fear of the body’s fragility and the impossibility of complete healing. This is not a surgical theatre—it is a theatre of vulnerability, where art stands in for the scalpel, and the audience becomes both patient and witness.
Con la colaboración de la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades @fecyt_ciencia
