Wellcome Collection Visit (29/01/22)
Late January, a group of us from the course took a visit down the road to the Wellcome Collection, a gallery featuring a variety of objects that are in the collection of Henry Wellcome.
We started backwards, visiting the Medicine Man exhibition, a permanent fixture at the gallery. As described by the gallery themselves, its a collection which explores the way in which we’ve tried to understand the human body, both in life and death. It was interesting to see the different ways people wanted to change their bodies, such as reducing the size of their skulls (or something to that effect), the mechanical replacements soldiers during the World Wars had to adopt in order to replace their lost limbs for everyday tasks such as eating or even smaller, more basic things such as the fashion of glasses in the past. It was also a little morbid to see different cultures and their attitudes towards death and the objects that they created for burial. A timely reminder of the fleeting nature of our lives.
We visited the second permanent exhibition at the gallery, “Being Human”. As the collection outlines, this exhibition looks at our relationship between each other, the world and environments, and the 21st century.
I found this exhibition in particularly remarkably odd, perhaps because it delves into speculative futures just as much as a bygone age. A good 15 minutes was spent watching a recreation of McDonalds slowly flood, watching the equipment pop and the water go from a see through clean to a murky brown as it mixed with the greasy outlet. Only the water was heard, which made for a calming atmosphere despite the odd nature of this film. I’m not sure what the purpose was of this but it was fascinating to see an everyday outlet fade away in circumstances we wouldn’t normally imagine.
My favourite of the exhibits here involved the “Refugee Astronaut”, which was an astronaut carrying a bunch of everyday goods such as a suitcase. It is a speculation of what might happen to us in the future, how might many of us become refugees as the description suggests. I find it fascinating just seeing two very different things jammed together, the idea of outer-space travel with everyday utensils, a scenario most of us don’t ever consider as we’ve taken our lives at present as granted.
I didn’t document it as I saw it, but there was also an exhibit called “Viscera” being shown at the time. It showcased a performance exploring emotion, and how we might express ourselves. It certainly pushed the limits of expression, a graceful, yet aggression that manifested more and more as the film got closer to the end. From what I remember, the colours enhanced the performance, with darkness and hues of red as the aggression took shape. It was a very atmospheric piece.
I’m not sure what to take away from what I’ve seen, whether it be elements of how we see ourselves into character design, or topics to explore. But I enjoyed what I saw, and would recommend the Collection for anyone who has yet to go.