Abstract:
How does a 3D-printed heart become part of an art installation? How does an artist re-present illness experiences? How do state-of-the-art medical technologies (such as advanced magnetic resonance imaging) inspire new conversations and potentially inspire the creation of artworks? And how do patients and members of the public fit in these processes? These are some of the questions that Sofie Layton and Giovanni Biglino will discuss during their talk. They will reference their previous collaboration at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and also their current project The Heart of the Matter, a multidisciplinary public engagement project that aims to explore both the medical and the poetic facets of the human heart.
Speakers:
Sofie Layton is an artist. Her work includes large-scale site-specific performance, theatre, and installations. At the heart of her work is an educational and participative narrative, which has been integral to much of the work that she has created. She has worked as artist in residence with Historic Royal Palaces. Sofie regularly collaborates with other artists, makers and musicians; projects include For the Best, directed by Mark Storor at the Unicorn Theatre; TMA award for Best Children’s Theatre 2009. Prior work in a clinical setting includes Bedside Manners, an installation at Evelina Children Hospital, and a Wellcome Trust-funded residency at Great Ormond Street Hospital (Under the Microscope). Sofie’s practice involves working with peoples’ lived experience, distilling their stories and finding new forms to communicate experience through art.
Giovanni Biglino is a biomedical engineer. He studied at Imperial College London and obtained his PhD in cardiovascular mechanics from the Brunel Institute of Bioengineering. He has carried out research at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and University College London, with the cardiac engineering team, focusing on congenital heart disease. Now he is a Lecturer in Cardiovascular Bioinformatics and Medical Statistics at the Bristol Heart Institute. He has studied biostatistics at Harvard Medical School and has started to enthusiastically explore the world of narrative medicine at Columbia University. His current research is very collaborative, involving cardiologists, surgeons, imagers, psychologists and artists.