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Facing up to brain injury
In Context
The Making Faces exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall is an art installation from Submit to Love Studios. This collective of self-taught artists is based at Headway East London, a charity that opened this studio as a rehabilitation programme for survivors of brain injuries over a decade ago. Since then, the programme has developed into a unique collective with a very distinct vocational and creative outlook. In conjunction with Headway East London, they have developed the Making Faces exhibition to depict and confront the physical and emotional aspects of constructing identity for survivors of brain injury. The exhibition is comprised of two parts: a series of paintings and drawings, complemented by stacks of decorated boxes. Initially, as the viewer approaches these sculptures sectioned off from the hall by an ankle-high barrier, one might assume that they are intended to be observed only from the side; in fact, the installation is designed with a far more interactive purpose in mind. Walking among these stacked boxes to view the designs and stories which wrap around each side is not only permissible, it is encouraged. Participating in this change from passive observer to active participant is about as apt a metaphor as one could hope to inspire when you consider the subject matter, and the artists, behind this particular exhibition. The use of these stacked boxes, which form threedimensional canvases of varying heights and sizes effectively conveys the exhibition’s focus on constructions of identity. Moving among them, the viewer is confronted with (literally) fully-realised depictions of the artists’ experiences and histories, for the most part presented through an abstract use of colour and collage. The installation was remarkably effective in drawing the passersby in, particularly through the use of mixed media to create pop culture collages. The combination of text and eye-catching symbols which spanned around the boxes also invited consideration of a subset of human experience that is so often neglected, and about which many people feel ignorant or apprehensive. Key to the effectiveness of this engagement is art as a medium, and although this relationship between art, medicine, and education is nothing new, it works especially well here. Overall, and particularly for the unprepared viewer, first impressions of the installation come devoid of context— the artists’ expressions of fear, disgust, aspiration, and joy are interpreted with universal appeal, and very admirably bridge the gap between medium and thematic content. This art is an ideal way in which to communicate about brain injury, a condition unfamiliar to many, with those experiencing longterm disability as a result of their injury comprising 0·8% of the population in the UK, and uniquely idiosyncratic in how it may present in a survivor. An excellent proof of this
universal appeal is the number of children who were drawn to the exhibition, and who engaged with it—although the themes were often dark, the installation was overwhelmingly bright and tactile, a poignant contrast which, again, aptly illustrates its intent in constructing a playful, contradictory, yet comprehensive exploration of the disjuncture between identity and appearance. One of the most striking pieces, placed at the very centre of the exhibition, explores this disjuncture between identity and appearance through a deceptively simple and evocative design of criss-crossed, black-and-white human figures, painted across the surfaces of four stacked boxes which towers over the viewer. The detailed pattern of smiling, sad, and wistful faces invites a thorough examination of the differences and contradictions that comprise both the piece itself and the exhibition as a whole. The other half of the exhibition comprises a more traditional display—paintings and drawings are grouped by its author, allowing viewers to engage with an artist’s work and themes. This component of the installation offers a fascinating insight into constructions of identity, which find a commonality among brain injury survivors—fantasy scenes, and subversions and appropriations of popular culture are themes shared by more than one artist, and Elvis even pops up once or twice. However, the most engaging and unique addition to this half of the exhibition is the audio that complements it—two tracks, one is an interview between a staff member from Submit to Love Studios and an artist, and the other a conversation between two artists at the studio. The artists discuss the experience of creating art as a response to the rehabilitation process: “The only way I could actually communicate anything about it was to simply describe what happened…I just call it ‘making pictures’ rather than art. I just ‘make pictures’.” The immediacy of context that these audio clips provide prompts a re-evaluation of the installation as a whole. Although the universality the exhibition invokes is certainly intrinsic to fostering engagement with the viewer, it is the artists’ perspectives on the process of creating their works which offers the more unique insight. Making Faces demonstrates the value of art as a rehabilitative tool, and the importance it plays as an avenue of communication for those who have survived brain injuries, forms of selfexpression which have the potential to play vital roles in the recovery processs. While the exhibition is now concluded, upcoming events and portfolios of artists’ work are available through the Submit to Love Studios website.
Anna Kennedy
Exhibition Facing up to brain injury
Lancet Neurol 2017 Published Online October 9, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1474-4422(17)30356-3 Making Faces Royal Festival Hall, London, UK Aug 3– 23, 2017 For more on Submit to Love Studios see http:// submittolovestudios.org For more on HeadwayEast London see https://www. headway.org.uk/
Anna Kennedy
www.thelancet.com/neurology Published online October 9, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30356-3
1
The Making Faces exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall is an art installation from Submit to Love Studios. This collective of self-taught artists is based at Headway East London, a charity that opened this studio as a rehabilitation programme for survivors of brain injuries over a decade ago. Since then, the programme has developed into a unique collective with a very distinct vocational and creative outlook. In conjunction with Headway East London, they have developed the Making Faces exhibition to depict and confront the physical and emotional aspects of constructing identity for survivors of brain injury. The exhibition is comprised of two parts: a series of paintings and drawings, complemented by stacks of decorated boxes. Initially, as the viewer approaches these sculptures sectioned off from the hall by an ankle-high barrier, one might assume that they are intended to be observed only from the side; in fact, the installation is designed with a far more interactive purpose in mind. Walking among these stacked boxes to view the designs and stories which wrap around each side is not only permissible, it is encouraged. Participating in this change from passive observer to active participant is about as apt a metaphor as one could hope to inspire when you consider the subject matter, and the artists, behind this particular exhibition. The use of these stacked boxes, which form threedimensional canvases of varying heights and sizes effectively conveys the exhibition’s focus on constructions of identity. Moving among them, the viewer is confronted with (literally) fully-realised depictions of the artists’ experiences and histories, for the most part presented through an abstract use of colour and collage. The installation was remarkably effective in drawing the passersby in, particularly through the use of mixed media to create pop culture collages. The combination of text and eye-catching symbols which spanned around the boxes also invited consideration of a subset of human experience that is so often neglected, and about which many people feel ignorant or apprehensive. Key to the effectiveness of this engagement is art as a medium, and although this relationship between art, medicine, and education is nothing new, it works especially well here. Overall, and particularly for the unprepared viewer, first impressions of the installation come devoid of context— the artists’ expressions of fear, disgust, aspiration, and joy are interpreted with universal appeal, and very admirably bridge the gap between medium and thematic content. This art is an ideal way in which to communicate about brain injury, a condition unfamiliar to many, with those experiencing longterm disability as a result of their injury comprising 0·8% of the population in the UK, and uniquely idiosyncratic in how it may present in a survivor. An excellent proof of this
universal appeal is the number of children who were drawn to the exhibition, and who engaged with it—although the themes were often dark, the installation was overwhelmingly bright and tactile, a poignant contrast which, again, aptly illustrates its intent in constructing a playful, contradictory, yet comprehensive exploration of the disjuncture between identity and appearance. One of the most striking pieces, placed at the very centre of the exhibition, explores this disjuncture between identity and appearance through a deceptively simple and evocative design of criss-crossed, black-and-white human figures, painted across the surfaces of four stacked boxes which towers over the viewer. The detailed pattern of smiling, sad, and wistful faces invites a thorough examination of the differences and contradictions that comprise both the piece itself and the exhibition as a whole. The other half of the exhibition comprises a more traditional display—paintings and drawings are grouped by its author, allowing viewers to engage with an artist’s work and themes. This component of the installation offers a fascinating insight into constructions of identity, which find a commonality among brain injury survivors—fantasy scenes, and subversions and appropriations of popular culture are themes shared by more than one artist, and Elvis even pops up once or twice. However, the most engaging and unique addition to this half of the exhibition is the audio that complements it—two tracks, one is an interview between a staff member from Submit to Love Studios and an artist, and the other a conversation between two artists at the studio. The artists discuss the experience of creating art as a response to the rehabilitation process: “The only way I could actually communicate anything about it was to simply describe what happened…I just call it ‘making pictures’ rather than art. I just ‘make pictures’.” The immediacy of context that these audio clips provide prompts a re-evaluation of the installation as a whole. Although the universality the exhibition invokes is certainly intrinsic to fostering engagement with the viewer, it is the artists’ perspectives on the process of creating their works which offers the more unique insight. Making Faces demonstrates the value of art as a rehabilitative tool, and the importance it plays as an avenue of communication for those who have survived brain injuries, forms of selfexpression which have the potential to play vital roles in the recovery processs. While the exhibition is now concluded, upcoming events and portfolios of artists’ work are available through the Submit to Love Studios website.
Anna Kennedy
Exhibition Facing up to brain injury
Lancet Neurol 2017 Published Online October 9, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1474-4422(17)30356-3 Making Faces Royal Festival Hall, London, UK Aug 3– 23, 2017 For more on Submit to Love Studios see http:// submittolovestudios.org For more on HeadwayEast London see https://www. headway.org.uk/
Anna Kennedy
www.thelancet.com/neurology Published online October 9, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30356-3
1