Neuralink’s first female PRIME trial participant, Audrey Crews, is now creating abstract art using the company’s brain-computer interface.
Crews, who was paralyzed from the neck down at age 16, has been creating memorable abstract art with her mind using an innovative brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.
Crews is the 9th Neuralink participant and the first woman to receive the implantable device in the PRIME clinical trials.
After a car accident left her paralyzed from the neck down, Audrey didn’t think she would be able to draw or paint again.
20 years later, she became the first female participant in our clinical trials. Now, she uses her brain-computer interface to create art with her mind. pic.twitter.com/mRkJMDpgrM
— Neuralink (@neuralink) May 15, 2026
With fewer than 100 people worldwide with BCIs, Crews has found herself at the intersection of art and the future of bneuroscience. By using only the power of thought, Crews has created vibrant abstract art with rich color and shapes.
On her website, she explains why creating this art is important to her: “My mission is to expand the boundaries of human expression and share the u
nseen landscapes of the mind,” Crews says.
Her artwork has evolved stylistically since her first showcase on X in 2025, at which time she was learning to draw her name.
“I tried writing my name for the first time in 20 years. Im working on it,” Crews said in a post on X.
“I’ll never forget the moment I used my thoughts to write my name, ‘Audrey,’ on a laptop screen for the first time in two decades. I even drew hearts and a slice of pizza, which felt like a small miracle! I shared that moment on X, laughing about my progress,” Crews said on her website.
“It’s humbling to know my journey is helping Neuralink refine this technology, which could one day let millions control devices with their minds,” she added.
Since then, Crews’ art has evolved, and she has also launched her online NeuraArt Studio, where fans can purchase limited-edition prints of her artwork.
Amid the BCI company’s efforts, Neuralink states that its devices are still “investigational and not FDA approved.”
However, in January of this year, the company said in a statement that a “primary aim of our expanding clinical trials is to better understand these variations and improve both our hardware and the overall procedure for every participant.”
Neuralink began human trials of its brain implant in 2024 after resolving safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which had previously declined to approve its initial application in 2022.
For Crews, what she has achieved lies at the intersection of current implantable BCI technology and fine abstract art, signaling a fundamental reframing of what it means to create, perceive, and even experience such creative products—a shift from something merely observed to something partially constructed by BCI users through thought.
“This breakthrough didn’t just restore my ability to create—it ignited a passion for art that had been dormant for too long,” she says. Crews’ art can be viewed, and prints are available for purchase, on her NeuraArt Studio website.
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com. To contact Chrissy with a story, please email chrissy @ thedebrief.org.