Ithaka Prize Winner: 'The Art of Medicine'

Imogen Ashby is the winner of the 2018 Ithaka Prize. Here, Imogen explains how she explored two areas that are of particular interest to her: medicine and art.  

For my PGS Extend I chose to combine two distinctive areas, Medicine and Art, which I would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise. I was intrigued about where, and if, these fields both overlapped, and came to the conclusion that there could be neither without the other. I created my own psychological tests, and I also researched lots of information about different types of Art therapies. Art therapy is a unique field that combines artistic and scientific components yet does not fit one single mould as its identity is continually evolving to help each individual's unique way of thinking and learning. For the PGS Extend, the sketch book became my art therapy, and I became my own case study.

Below is a copy of the speech I read at the Ithaka evening. I am honoured that I won, Thank you so much to all that came to listen and supported all the PGS Extend projects.

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Good Evening Everybody,

For my PGS Extend I chose to study ‘The Art in Medicine'. Initially I chose this topic because it would increase my chances of getting in to medical school with a subject that everyone thought had little academic value. To be honest, I wanted to prove them wrong, gain more knowledge into an area of interest and, throughout the year, this choice of topic became more and more relevant.

I chose to study the skeleton at first. Clara Lieu’s outcomes are dark shadows and glimpses of white that come together to form the object that once was, yet portray an eerie sense of life. These drawings, along with David Stann's work, encouraged me to try my own using  a bendy willow stick to make abstract interpretations, the unreliable stick movement created broken shapes of bones.

Then, something occurred that exposed how palpable, naive and ignorant my approach to art in medicine had been. It swept all the reasons that I was doing this topic out the window and shattered my beliefs in the medicine world. My brother was diagnosed with a serious heart condition that meant he could have died young and all the doctors had missed this throughout his life. I was so angry and outraged, but not at the doctors. I was disappointed with myself for being so stupid, gullible and oblivious to how quickly things could change. How I simply did this topic to increase my chances of getting into medical school.

My approach completely changed. I abandoned my impasto technique, no longer trying to inculcate Van Gogh's gestures, and could no longer hide my emotions behind the thick acrylic marks that I had been doing for so long. The project became more about the truth in Art through forms of Art Therapy and I began filming my paintings through time-lapse videos, which I now like better than the final pieces because they are so much more truthful, honest and raw.

I studied the Rorschach test and was immediately fascinated by it. How could your interpretation of a few ink blots expose the innermost characteristics that you had tried so hard to hide? I created my own CT scan Blots and was captivated by the role of interpretation.

Visits to the Hunterian museum and The Wellcome collection engulfed and engrossed me. Images of Damien Hursts work flicked through my mind and, although I used to be repulsed by his work, I no longer am. I've begun to realise that a piece of art is better the more truth there is in it, and these specimens are the truest of the true. I  questioned how porous the boundaries between medicine and art were.

Painting has allowed me to discover all that's hidden in the peripheral vision and picks at the knots and loose ends of my thoughts. I became engulfed in a fascination of the heart and the internal organs and tried a new approach of painting onto a person, bringing the internal to the external. The balance of the white of the ribs with the crimson of the muscle created an emphasis on the fragility of the organs beneath.

Adjusting to the contagious enthusiasm of the canvas was a little difficult, and the texture of the creases and crinkles of the skin added a new, unforeseen aspect, leading me to discover John Isaac's work at the Wellcome Collection, London.

Researching into Art therapy techniques, I was intrigued by the multiple methods used. This is because art therapy does not fit one single mould as its identity is continually evolving to help each individuals unique way of thinking and learning. Making an art journal was in the top 100 art therapy ideas, and my sketchbook became my art therapy.

Work Experience at St Richards hospital rekindled my interest in scans and after a few small studies I completed a meter squared canvas of my brother’s heart. Because it meant the most to me, it became one of my best outcomes yet.

A clay pot brought my project to a close. It boasts strength and security from the outside, yet can so easily be broken, just like every person living today. Its fair to say that it didn’t always go to plan, here’s a picture of me accidentally making it fall of the table, curtesy of one of my Timelapses.

My clay pot took over six weeks to complete and changed from a fluid, delicate and subtle pot to a freakish and grotesque one in the end. It depicts the heart’s pulmonary artery and aorta which includes the narrowed coarctation from which my brother suffered, an ear, and a spine which brings a sense of authenticity and a life to the pot. In a sliced through vessel sits a brain to portray the mental health aspect of diagnosis.

Through this project I’ve learnt that the boundaries between art and medicine are much more porous than I ever would’ve imagined. What I also learnt is that Art is deceptive. It can create uncertainty and ambivalence but it can also be honest to those who look hard enough. Through the this project I’ve discovered that my artwork used to be a lie. That each and every piece I made was aesthetically pleasing but meant nothing at all, no truth lay within them. Each piece was not honest, raw and truthful, instead they were a barrier of deceit and deception creating a lie of a world I wanted to live in. I understand that now, and know that although there seems to be a prominent message in every artwork, that the underlying message is sometimes more crucial, valuable and paramount. With this in mind, I believe that it is down to the eye of the observer to interpret the piece as they wish, right or wrong, it does not matter.