Completed Art Project!

So this was the final project for my Year 1 creative piece. Yes! My very first art project has been completed and submitted - what do you think?

On the backboard that I stuck down the prescription medication to, I used empty tablet packets and some packets containing ibuprofen and paracetamol to add to the 'pharmaceutical' effect I was aiming for.

This was the reflection that I submitted alongside my creative piece:

Following the experience of meeting a kidney transplant patient on a home visit, I was profoundly affected by their dependency on such a wide range of treatments and drugs. It made me question whether the independence of home care has any great distinction from treatment on a ward. Due to how overwhelmed I was by the number of medications required for this patient’s basic survival, I decided to explore and emphasise this by use of an assemblage art piece constructed from mixed media.

The patient I have based this piece on suffered from two polycystic kidneys, hence why she had a kidney transplant. After the encounter, I went home and researched exactly what a polycystic kidney was and a brief explanation to its causation. When I saw how the polycystic kidney can become filled with large infected cysts, I thought this would be a perfect condition to replicate using clay. I have previous experience with clay and seek enjoyment in portraying ideas in a 3D and visual form.

This is the final product. The clay piece was mounted onto the board and the 'No Nails' set, I added pieces of string to show the connecting vessels and tubes! The red represent arteries (especially the superior mesenteric artery and the renal arteries), the blue represent the veins (being the renal veins) and the white represents the ureters that connect the kidneys to the bladder.

This three dimensional representation of how this ongoing treatment could be experienced by the patient, demonstrates how, even after the completion of a renal transplant surgery, the patient will never truly regain their independence from the medication. The patient did exclaim her dependence on the medication and did give an explanation to each of the tablets’ mechanism of action and its role in keeping her alive and preventing the rejection of the kidney. I couldn’t remember each tablet individually, so I found the NHS leaflet on renal transplantation which gave a run down of medication that is prescribed to a kidney transplant patient. I made the designs of the medicine boxes myself with a quick easy explanation on each of them (similar to how the patient described them to me).

In my piece, I have assembled the anatomy of the urinary system (including other abdominal organs). One thing that really stood out for me was the fact that they still keep both of the original polycystic kidneys in the patient’s body. I always assumed they were removed during the surgery, but I was told by my GP that they would only do this if the kidneys posted a further risk to the health of the individual (eg. It became cancerous). So, I wanted to educate the viewers of my piece that they do keep the kidneys within your body and that the transplanted kidney is placed into the iliac fossa.

Here are all the tablets I also made for the project, but didn't end up using!

Small tablets, pills and capsules that were created using clay.

Art Project...in progress

If you are interested in how the art assignment is working out at the moment, I have so far finished making the centre piece which is the anatomical representation of the abdomen. Being clay, it needs to dry out before it is fired and can be painted.

I'm thinking at the moment of painting the whole abdomen in its true colours (ie. slightly pinkish stomach, purple-like spleen, dark red liver etc) or painting them in paler pastel colours and the three kidneys in darker colours to bring attention onto them.

I plan to make small pills and capsules out of clay to represent the medication, and to stick this in some areas of the abdomen to show the reliance and dependence to keep the system working.

The holes in the hilum of the kidney and the major vessels in the centre (inferior vena cava and the abdominal aorta) will have coloured piping stuck into it which will connect them up. The clay was too fragile to roll thinly and connect as blood vessels (and the ureters), therefore I will do this after it has been fired.

The two kidneys have polycystic kidney disease, which meant I could use smaller pieces of clay rolled into balls to produce these cysts that are growing all over the kidney. I even scooped some clay out to represent burst cysts. The transplanted kidney is located at the bottom left.

As mentioned, the main purpose of my piece is to represent the dependence on medication (I was overwhelmed by the number of drugs transplant patients are administered after their operation!). So as the background of the board which my clay will be mounted to, I have designed these drugs based on the actual medication.

Example, I have found the name of certain immunosuppressants which are prescribed to renal transplant patients and have designed these on my computer (some based on their actual packets I could find online) and then printed these out and stuck them as a montage on the wooden board. I have also measured up and printed some of my own medication packets to stick to the boxes of over-the-counter medicines I had bought for this project. By doing so, I also have spare medicine packets that I can stick to my work too.

The montage of different medications that a renal transplant patient may be taking. I designed the packets online and stuck them to the board as a montage background for my clay piece.

Assignments.... science vs. arts!

At the beginning of the year, I remember laughing with my flatmates how great it is that we don't get as many essays compared to other subjects. One of my flatmates who does biology is always complaining about another essay or report she has to do.

But, we were set an awful essay on discussing *something* and its impact on human health and wellbeing. The *something* had to be appropriate and from a certain list we were given (ie. diet, exercise, loneliness etc). I decided to do how owning a dog affects human health and wellbeing, which I thought initially would be very interesting. Was it? Of course not. For every paper that said owning a dog lowers your blood pressure, there was a study that proved that wasn't the case.

My essay based on the impact of owning a dog on human health and wellbeing. One of the hardest parts of writing this essay was actually trying to reference using the Vancouver method as opposed to Harvard, which is what I'm used to!

It was very complicated and repetitive, but I ploughed through. I lost out on a really good night, but I guess it was my fault for leaving it until the week it was due. Literature reviews and breaking down medical scientific journals is a talent that I really don't think I have compared to my friends.

My uni though is trying to promote this concept of medicine being both an art and a science. Therefore, we have also been set an art assignment. We have to base this on a clinical encounter that we have had or observed.

I have decided to create a reflective piece based on a patient that I met whilst doing a home visit in my GP placement. She has polycystic kidney disease, and her poor kidney function led to her having a kidney transplant. I was very shocked to learn that unless cancerous or posting a serious threat to life, they keep the kidneys inside you! I always thought they removed it during a transplant, but no!

The patient told me about how she believes it's the medication that is keeping her going. So I have based my art project solely on the amazing concept of a renal transplant, but also the dependence on medication to stay alive.

The plan for my art piece: an anatomical representation of the abdomen with the transplanted kidney (from the posterior abdominal muscles, to the bladder, major blood vessels, two PKD-affected kidneys, a transplanted kidney, to the liver, the stomach and the spleen). This will be moulded out of clay, dried over the holiday and fired in a kiln in the final week and ready for the deadline of the 20th April. Surrounding my clay piece will be the tablets a renal patient will be taking to prevent rejection or any infection post-operation. I have researched these drugs online, and through the use of NHS renal transplant information leaflets which are given to patients before or after their transplant operation.

The beginning base for my anatomical representation of the abdomen, crafted out of clay. On the paper is my rough plan of how I plan to lay out the structures.

I will keep you updated on how this turns out!