Living Loss | Ellen Desmond & Julie Daunt
Ellen Desmond and Arts & Literature Editor Julie Daunt discuss and review the latest Glucksman exhibition which shows the various experiences of illness through art.
The latest exhibition in the Glucksman Gallery looks at representations of mental and physical illness in contemporary art. Working in association with the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in UCC, this exhibition incorporates photography, paintings, sculpture, videos, drawings and prints – so there’s something for all tastes. The works include expressions of personal experiences and conflicts with the aim to give an insight into the life of a person who struggles in their day to day life due to some form of illness. Ellen: I entered this exhibition extremely excited as it is an area that I am highly interested in. However, throughout the experience I was in two minds; some of them simply seemed amateur and yet others evoked overwhelming feelings of sympathy in me. But upon leaving I concluded it was just the correct balance and as a whole the entire display is tastefully rounded with the most prevalent areas covered in order to give a visitor the necessary broad scope to learn from the experience. Julie: I agree! I was also looking forward to this exhibition, particularly when I heard that there would be some Damien Hirst’s on display (although, I’m not a huge fan of his work and his style generally annoys me, I was still looking forward to seeing his work so close to home). With the exhibition dealing with an often controversial and touchy subject, I also think they works on display are not too upsetting and shocking and deal tastefully and sympathetically with the theme. I liked the layout, in particular the recreated ‘waiting room’. What parts of the show would you recommend? Ellen: I would first encourage visitors to watch the two British Health Department videos, which are shown in the upstairs Sisk Gallery, before attempting to interpret any of the art works. These give an outstanding and unsettling insight into the lives of both elderly and young child patients. I was particularly interested in these videos because they give a once in a life time insight into the emotional struggles, attitudes and personal interpretations of fighting through illnesses at two very opposite ends of the age spectrum. It is rare that one could experience this type of view without being closely attached to the patient. I could write all day about this aspect of the display, but I won’t! However I would urge anyone to go along and make notes (I wrote pages!).In these large, bold works, Hirst represents the incomprehensible medicinal intake of many patients. He reveals how “pills can often become the final meal for chronically ill patients” by renaming several medication packages with food labels such as “sandwich” or “meatballs”. The style also really pays homage to Warhol. I really appreciated the emotional impact of this display and I believe the statement at its core was badly needed in the art world. What about you? Julie: I would recommend the rosary beads by Laura Potter, located alongside the Damien Hirst pictures. Potter is a conceptual jeweller (first time I’d ever heard of that!). It is only when you pay close attention to this work that you realise the beads are actually pills and tablets. The cross also resembles a pharmacy sign. I thought this was clever, especially with their position in relation to Hirst’s Last Supper. They are both interesting representations on the themes of religion, medicine and faith.I would also take a look at the Project Twins’ posters on mental health and depression. While they are simple in their colour and form, they raise relevant issues about the stigmas and perceptions surrounding depression. Was there anything you didn’t like? Ellen: It bothered me a little how the voiceovers from each video in the Sisk Gallery videos could be heard while experiencing the other video. Also, “Work no 78” by Martin Creed was not to my liking at all. I really wanted to appreciate this tiny box made of bandages. It made me feel shallow not to respect this work because I understood his point and aim, but I’ll admit I just genuinely didn’t appreciate it.I’m also in two minds about Cecily Brennan’s paintings which zoom in on particular ailments of the body. They were displayed appealingly as a whole but upon close inspection to the individual works they seemed somewhat less than average displays of painting. The isolation and cold nature of these pieces made them fearfully ominous and full of an eerie personification that stirred me. Was there anything that didn’t appeal to you? Julie: While I loved most of the photography on display (in particular Paul Seawright and his work Waiting Room), I wasn’t too taken by Thomas Stuth’s nature photographs. These were originally displayed in patient’s rooms as a therapeutic distraction and escape. They were taken with specific attention to certain flowers and settings to reflect on the way an illness makes you aware of your body. While they were colourful and nicely composed, I didn’t find them very unique or provocative too look at. Although when viewed in relation to some of the other works on display like Jo Spence’s photographs, they perhaps lighten the mood, in turn fulfilling their original purpose. Ellen: Yes, I thought Struth’s project was a really innovative and fantastic idea that had great potential. But in my opinion his idea didn’t really come across the framework. I would usually pick up on something like that, but I genuinely couldn’t relate the photos to this idea at all. That said the photos are strikingly full of colour and life and they fulfil the requirements of impressive photography. I found it extraordinarily moving to be able to look at them and think of the other eyes that had seen them through such a different perspective from their hospital beds. Julie: As I say, they certainly balance the mood of the exhibition, in particular with Jo Spence’s photographs of her battle with terminal breast cancer. I have come across her and her husband Terry Dennett’s photographs before, but I’ve never seen them in an exhibition. They are charged with such raw emotion, with Spence letting us witness her treatment and suffering. With many of us being able to relate somewhat to Spence’s experience on a personal level, the photographs certainly had a very emotional impact on me. Ellen: I agree, Spence’s works say more than a few words about her emotional distraught. These images very much capture how there is a multi-layered type of suffering, especially with cancer. In particular, Spence portrays an often overlooked aspect of illnesses, that of the personal intrusive nature of many treatments. The works acknowledge her illness as a psychologically inescapable aspect of her own life. This fascinated me as cancer is a physical, not mental illness and yet I felt emotionally overwhelmed and suffocated just looking at these photographs. The real gem of these works is probably “Hospisis”, in which Jo Spence, frail, weak and at the end of her life, manages to press the button to take her own photograph and capture her own life in her own hands for possibly the last time. The importance of keeping a grasp on one’s own life is evident throughout these photographs; Spence was determined to represent her suffering, and represent she did. I appreciated and respected them wholeheartedly. Living/Loss runs until March 10th 2013. Entrance is free.--------- The Future is Now. Over the past few months, the Glucksman has been running a project called ‘Glucksman Futures’. The aim of this project was to bring together a team of young creative students who would organise and put together a film programme to be shown in December. The group took park in curatorial workshops and talks with other successful film curators. Many of the students on the team come from the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art here in UCC (including yours truly!) as well as the MA in Film Studies. After months of preparation and discussions, our final film programme is good to go. So come along, pull up a beanbag and prepare to be mesmerised. Glucksman Futures Film Programme – Sisk Gallery, Friday December 14th 6pm (free admission).