Friday 27 February 2009

Friday 13th February AM

Talking about how it feels to be examined and in a hospital, with chosen words then placed on lollipop sticks resembling tongue depressors.

A hospital is full of materials and objects waiting to written on, waiting for a personal mark. From the tea cups to the bedside table it is a home away from home. But everything is the same with plastic medical containers, charts and hand cleaning dispensers dotted between them. It’s a world of its own that so many people have stepped into and out again leaving nothing behind. The week before, one man was sat in the blue gown with the white hospital blanket wrapped around him, there to keep him warm but its clinical feel holding little comfort. He spoke about how much he missed wearing his own clothes, having his own things around him. As the nurses check another man’s wrist band to see who he, hospitals are places where you can so easily loose your identity, making it even more important to seek them out and mark them down. This week, their personal experiences were marked onto a mundane tongue depressor. As an object which is normally thrown away after one use, it created an interesting comparison and contrast; their stories aren’t something to be discarded so easily. This is just one small object from the hospital, but the list could go on. Each item will bring a different metaphor. Find the right topic and the object and word play together, giving both more depth. This will give a viewer a stronger connection with the stories and help keep them present.

Anneke Kuipers.

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