Tan, KS., Asherson, P., 2017.

Come Sit on a Mat with an Artist and a Psychiatrist to Have a Chat about Mind Wandering, Gingerbread Men, Shark Baits, and the Interface of Normal/abnormal Behaviour

Does your mind wander? What do you picture when you daydream? Where do you go? How far is too far? How often is too often? When does mental restlessness become impairment? What are the boundaries between pathology and normalcy, a healthy brain versus one that is ill, disordered and disorderly? What can a science-art collaborative exploration of mind wandering contribute to, challenge and extend our understanding of wellbeing? This article was co-authored by Tan and her mentor-collaborator Philip Asherson, on the aims and purposes of their art-science commission #MagicCarpet. The article was published on MiND the Gap, which is a joint scientific blog of several multicenter projects on develop-mental psychiatry, funded by the European Union. We Sat On A Mat and Had a Chat and Made Maps #MagicCarpet went to to become an award-winning art-science commission (2017-2019) that has already been enjoyed offline by 10,000 people worldwide. Psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, academics, service users, health policy officers, dyslexic children, teachers, art lovers and more aged 2-85 have enjoyed its tapestry art installation, workshops, films, keynote lectures, performances, photographs, badges, seminars and more at Southbank Centre, Science Museum, NESTA Innovation Showcase, Peter Scott Gallery (Lancaster) in the UK, SOS Dyslexia Conference in San Marino, covered Big Issue North and Resonance FM, and the cover of British Journal of Psychiatry, discussed in The Conversation, and described as 'beautiful' (Disability Arts Online) and having created a 'family' for neurodivergent people (The Psychologist). #MagicCarpet ed by Unlimited and supported by King's College London.