21 November 2008

New work by contemporary artist David Cotterrell will be unveiled for the first time as part of a major temporary exhibition - ‘War and Medicine’ - launching on 22 November at Wellcome Collection.

Commissioned by the Wellcome Trust and supported by the Ministry of Defence, this powerful work is a response to Cotterrell’s experiences travelling to Afghanistan, where he spent time with British soldiers observing and documenting their daily life.

Through film and photography Cotterrell has captured the drama of being on the front line, in particular the extraordinary efforts of the armed forces' medical staff and the human stories behind them.

'War and Medicine' will consider the continually evolving relationship between warfare and medicine, beginning with the disasters of the Crimean War in the 1850s, and continuing through to today’s conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Central to the exhibition is the uncomfortable and sometimes paradoxical relationship between war and medicine and the question of their influence upon each other. 'War and Medicine' will show how humankind’s desire to repair and heal is perpetually striving to keep pace with our capacity to maim and kill.

War and Medicine: 22 November 2008-15 February 2009
Press viewing: Friday 21 November, 9.30-13.00 (contact Mike Findlay for details)
Venue: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE
Admission FREE
Gallery opening times: Tues.-Wed., Fri.-Sat.: 10.00-18.00; Thurs.: 10.00-22.00
Sun.: 11.00-18.00; Closed Mon. (except Bank Holidays: 10.00-18.00).

David Cotterrell spent one month in Camp Bastion in the Helmand Province last year, his trip having been inspired by the realisation that he is part of the last generation to have living relatives who experienced World War II.

Cotterrell explains: “Growing up I can recall in-depth conversations with my grandfather about his own memories of war, and I feel fortunate to have been born into a generation that was not required to join the military. My experiences of life will always be moderate compared to his, and I have often wondered how people who have experienced war have managed to adjust to life after conflict.”

Cotterrell has created two film installations that will immerse visitors to the exhibition in the realities of contemporary battlefield medicine:

'Theatre' is a five-screen panoramic video projection that lasts 60 minutes, in which Cotterrell attempts to contextualise his experience of witnessing the treatment of combat victims in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan.

'9-Liner' is a three-screen video projection lasting 25 minutes, which explores the dislocation between the parallel experiences of casualties within theatre. It is a quiet study of a dramatic event: the attempt to bring those injured to the tented entrance of the desert field hospital.

David Cotterrell’s diary written during his time in Camp Bastion is an incredibly moving document of what he witnessed in Afghanistan as well as his personal struggle to come to terms with his role as an 'official war artist'. His work reveals not only the way medicine is administered in combat situations but also the human stories that lie beneath the casualty statistics.

Extracts from his diary have been published as part of ‘War and Medicine’ the book, by Black Dog Publishing Ltd.

David Cotterrell will be ‘in conversation’ with curator and writer Angela Weight on Saturday 7 February at a free event in Wellcome Collection. For more details, please see the events listings below.

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Notes to editors

For further details, images, interview requests or to attend the press private view please contact:

Mike Findlay
Media Officer (Wellcome Collection)
T: 020 7611 8612
E: m.findlay@wellcome.ac.uk

‘War and Medicine’ is the sixth major temporary exhibition at Wellcome Collection, and is the second of a two-part collaboration with The Museum of Man (Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden).

David Cotterrell

David Cotterrell received an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art & Design in 1997. He is an installation artist working across varied forms including video, audio, interactive media, artificial intelligence, device control and hybrid technology. His work exhibits political, social and behavioural analyses of the environments and contexts that he inhabits.

Cotterrell is Professor of Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University. Over the last ten years, his work has been extensively commissioned and exhibited in North America, Europe and the Far East for gallery spaces, museums and the public realm. Recent exhibitions include: 'Eastern Standard: Western artists in China' at MASS MoCA North Adams, Massachusetts, and 'Map Games' at the Today Museum of Modern Art, Bejing and Birmingham City Art Gallery. He is currently researching and developing new work with advanced simulation company SEOS, with the support of an Arts Council England bursary.

Cotterrell’s work for the Wellcome Trust has been supported by the Ministry of Defence, who enabled his stay at Camp Bastion in November 2007. This work was further supported by the RSA, who invited him to stay in Kabul for a month in early 2008 in order to view an alternative aspect of Afghanistan.

War and Medicine events

To coincide with the exhibition, a lively programme of discussions, debates, film screenings and tours will allow visitors to engage in dialogue with experts from the arts and sciences.

A Doctor’s Duty
Thursday 15 January, 19.00-20.30
Ethical responsibility in the climate of war

We expect a great deal of our medical professionals. War only increases this pressure. New ethical dilemmas arise that may challenge them to place politics above an individual’s welfare. Does military ideology have the potential to influence medical practice?

Speakers:
Ulf Schmitt, Historian, University of Kent
Don Carrick, Military and medical ethicists, University of Hull

Late-night Film Festival
Saturday 17 January, 16.00-23.00

Join us for a collection of feature films and shorts that provide fascinating fictional and real-life insights into the lives of soldiers, surgeons and civilians. Discover the perspectives of World War II bombers and Kurdish villagers, and enjoy quirky animated health warnings and field hospital high-jinks.

Civilian Scars
Thursday 22 January, 19.00-20.30
How do different cultures understand it?

At the extreme of physical and mental damage lies trauma. But what causes trauma in the first place and what makes it different from other injury? This is a subject fraught with difficulties. This event will bring together anthropological and psychological perspectives to tackle these contemporary issues.

Speakers:
Catherine Panter-Brick, Medical Anthropologist, University of Durham
Derek Summerfield, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry

Remembering War
Friday 30 January 19.00-21.00, Saturday 10.30-17.00
Recollection and reflection of individuals and nations.

Nostalgia, trauma, the good times and the bad. War can consume a whole culture. How does memory affect our understanding of what has happened? Should we try to remember or forget our experiences of wartime? Is it possible for literature, film or art to truly reflect the atrocities of war? Join our experts from the worlds of neuroscience, psychology, visual culture and history as we try to unpick these complex issues.

In partnership with the European Dana Alliance for the Brain.

Programme:

Memory like Shells Bursting
Friday 30 January, 19.00-21.00

Live performance with the Allegri Quartet of Shostakovich's 8th Quartet and 'Memory Like Shells Bursting', composed by Karen Wimhurst and WWII veteran Norman Winchester. Tours of the exhibition will also be available. Followed by a drinks reception.

Talks and discussions
Saturday 31 January, 10.30-17.00

Speakers:
Martin Conway, Cognitive psychologist, University of Leeds
Kate Forde and Lucy Shanahan, Curators of 'War and Medicine'
Jordan Grafman, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Institute of Health, USA
Catherine Moriarty, Principal Research Fellow of Arts & Architecture, University of Brighton
Simon Wessely, Director, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry

£30/£20 concessions
Please call 020 7611 2222 to book.

Limb Loss
Thursday 5 February, 19.00-20.30

In recent times, medical care on the front line has improved so much that people who would have once died in battle are now returning home to live with one or more limbs missing. But how do prosthetics today compare with those of the past? Join medical experts and hear personal perspectives to explore the issues.

David Cotterrell in Conversation
Saturday 7 February, 15.00-16.30

In November 2007 artist David Cotterrell undertook a three-week residency in Afghanistan at the British base Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, where he observed the work of army medical teams responding to military and civilian casualties.

This event will be a chance to view previously unseen images from David’s residency and hear about his time in Afghanistan. David will be joined in conversation by Angela Weight.

Perspectives Tours

Thursday 4 December, 15.00 Emily Mayhew, historian and author of ‘The Reconstruction of Warriors’, 2004.
Friday 12 December, 15.00, Roger Cooter, Historian, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL.
Friday 18 December, Richard Hollingham, author of Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery’
Friday 16 January, Kate Forde, Co-curator of the exhibition
Friday 23 January, James Peto, Senior Curator, Wellcome Collection
Wednesday 28 January, Lucy Shanahan, Co-curator of the exhibition

Public booking information

Tickets: All events are free, unless otherwise stated.
Booking: Phone: 020 7611 2222, email: events@wellcomecollection.org, or book online.

The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.

The Wellcome Trust's former headquarters, the Wellcome Building on London's Euston Road, has been redesigned by Hopkins Architects to become a new £30 million public venue. Free to all, Wellcome Collection explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. The building comprises three galleries, a public events space, the Wellcome Library, a café, a bookshop, conference facilities and a members' club.