Biophilia and Art: The Power of Green in Visual Perception and Well-being

Dates: Tuesday, April 29, May 6 and May 13, 2025

Location: AlMarsam Arts Center, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Directed by: Dr. Koncha Pinos, director of The Wellbeing Planet

Estimated duration: 60 minutes

Prior registration required at Al Mariam

General description

The color green is much more than an aesthetic presence in the landscape: it is a visual stimulus deeply inscribed in human biology. From a neuroaesthetic and cultural perspective, this workshop examines how green impacts the brain, perception, ecological memory and well-being.

The experience will be guided by Dr. Koncha Pinos, director of The WellbeingPlanet, a foundation present in more than 48 countries, dedicated to the study of biophilia, artistic perception and contemplative neuroscience. Throughout his career, Koncha has traveled and researched the jungles of Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Japan and China, where he has documented how nature impacts perception and well-being in different cultures.

Her work connects art and deep perception, having studied the work of masters such as Pablo Picasso and Antoni Gaudí, and currently collaborates as a scientific curator of the artist Duván López in the exhibition Biophilia and Art: Jungles and Forests, where it is investigated how nature inspires artistic creation and transforms consciousness.

Green as a perceptive code

Green, omnipresent in the biosphere, activates areas of the brain related to well-being, emotional regulation and spatial orientation. Recent research in neuroaesthetics (Ramachandran, Chatterjee, Kaplan) has shown how shades of green promote states of mental and sensory restoration.

In the Emirati context and in the Islamic tradition, green represents fertility, renewal, mercy and knowledge. Through gardens, architecture and artistic expressions, green becomes a vital symbol, deeply anchored in culture.

This workshop aims to explore that double dimension – physiological and cultural – of green as a catalyst for well-being.

Contents and activities

• Introduction to the concept of biophilia: the innate connection with the living and its perceptual implications

• Neuroaesthetics of the green color: impact on the brain and on the perception of space

• Visual recognition test: how many greens can you identify?

• Active observation of Duván López’s works, focused on the natural life cycle and regeneration

• Exploration of visual records of jungles of Colombia, Japan and China compiled by Koncha Pinos

• Practical exercise: Cartography of the plant bond – visual representation of our inner relationship with the green

• Final dialogue: The role of green in urban welfare and contemporary Emirati culture

Who is it aimed at?

This workshop is oriented to:

• Visual artists, architects, designers, curators and creators interested in biophilia and artistic perception

• Educators, researchers and students of art, neuroscience, cultural ecology or sustainability

• Citizens, residents and visitors from the United Arab Emirates interested in the connection between perception, nature and well-being

• Professionals from museums, cultural institutions and urban regeneration projects

No prior knowledge is required. Only sensitivity, curiosity and openness to explore the relationship between perception, art and nature.