Can we recreate something exactly as we remember it?
What is “Case Study: Taxi Driver”?
When Lyubo from Ratio learned about Vladо’s work, he not only wanted to dive deeper into visual research but also said, “I need to introduce you to some scientists!” These scientists were Bogomil Peshev (a neurobiologist) and Nasko Stamenov (a chemist), who had also been exploring the subject of memory for years.
Through a series of meetings, conversations, and, importantly, the documentation and photographing of memories, the first collaboration between Visual Research Center and Ratio was born: Case Study: Taxi Driver. The project culminated in a short film based on the real memory of a taxi driver from Pernik, who described the strangest experience of his professional life. We were thrilled to present our research Case Study: Taxi Driver to students at New Bulgarian University in 2024 and engage in an open discussion with them.
The Neurobiology of Memory
Case Study: Taxi Driver is more than a retelling of an unusual story – it is a dive into the mechanics of memory itself. With insights from neurobiology, the project explored how memories are not static recordings but dynamic constructs, shaped by chemical processes and neural pathways in the brain. Neurobiologist Bogomil Peshev shed light on how our brains reconstruct memories, often blending objective reality with subjective interpretation, especially when recalling intense or surreal experiences.
