object-based works

Taxonomy of Cognition

Meaning begins in the act of arranging.

Shells are protective structures — externalised interiors. They record growth, carry scars, and persist long after the organism has gone. In this sense they are memory made material.

In Taxonomy of Cognition, shells and natural forms are presented within framed boxes that evoke the visual language of natural history displays and scientific taxonomies — systems traditionally designed to classify, stabilise, and explain the natural world.

The shells, however, offer no explicit instruction. The viewer must infer why these objects are framed, how they relate to one another, and what systems of meaning are being suggested or withheld. The frames operate both literally and metaphorically, shaping perception while revealing the assumptions embedded within classification systems.

Each panel introduces a different organisational logic, encouraging comparison and uncertainty. The shells appear archival and authoritative, yet their arrangement resists definitive interpretation. The viewer is prompted to ask not only what is being classified, but how classification itself shapes understanding.

The work therefore explores the tension between order and ambiguity, knowledge and assumption, highlighting the inferential nature of perception and the quiet instability within the systems we rely upon to understand the world.

Using shells and natural forms as material analogues, Taxonomy of Cognition presents cognition as a distributed, adaptive process rather than a single unified function. The installation maps six interrelated cognitive operations — Perception, Inference, Integration, Regulation, Memory, and Cognition — across a sequence of panels.

Understanding emerges through the interaction of these processes, as expectations are continually adjusted in response to new signals — a dynamic that echoes contemporary Bayesian models of brain function.

This ongoing installation project is presented here in its working and developmental stages. The images document an evolving process of spatial arrangement, material testing, and conceptual refinement rather than a finalised installation. Form, scale, and configuration remain open as relationships between components, space, and viewer movement continue to evolve.

The boxes are arranged as a progression, moving from initial sensory contact with what is seen through to more complex forms of understanding.

Perception

The first panel addresses perception — what is noticed before interpretation begins. Viewers may initially register colour, shape, pairing, contrast, or surface detail. Different viewers notice different things. At this stage nothing needs to make sense; attention simply moves across the objects. Diverse shells are arranged without hierarchy, reflecting the way raw sensory information arrives prior to interpretation.

Inference

The second panel focuses on incoming signals and the beginnings of interpretation. Some shells are broken, incomplete, or unfamiliar, representing information that arrives without explanation — signals that are perceived but not yet understood. A broken shell may suggest a disrupted or partial signal, while a smaller intact shell may suggest a quieter or weaker one. Gaps between forms require conceptual bridging, reflecting inference as the brain’s attempt to construct coherence under uncertainty.

Integration

The central grid introduces familiar systems of organisation — grouping by size, shape, colour, or pattern. However, the grid resists resolution. No single categorisation fully holds. Viewers may find themselves shifting strategies, deciding what matters most, and settling on what feels like the best fit. This instability reflects how integration operates, where meaning emerges through coordination of incomplete and distributed signals rather than through clarity alone.

Regulation

Regulation governs prioritisation, inhibition, and stability within cognitive systems. Repetition and alignment introduce a sense of order and restraint, while organic variation maintains flexibility. The panel holds a balance between control and adaptability, reflecting the mechanisms that allow cognition to remain stable while responding to change.

Memory

Memory is presented as layered reconstruction rather than simple storage. Different materials represent different scales of time. Stone suggests geological time — slow, deep, and enduring. A larger shell represents biological time— the lifespan of a living organism. A smaller shell suggests cognitive time — memory, thought, and experience carried forward. Together these elements suggest memory as a process operating across multiple temporal layers.

Cognition

The final panel gathers the preceding processes together under cognition as an overarching activity. One form shows a shell emerging from stone, suggesting cognition as something that develops rather than arrives fully formed. Another shell represents thought itself — thinking, and thinking about thinking.

The panel does not stand apart from the others but arises from them, reflecting cognition as an emergent process generated by perception, inference, integration, regulation, and memory working in concert.