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Segment of aself (detail) by Eleanor Minney, 2018
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Segment of aself (detail) by Eleanor Minney, 2018
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Test Sample Garden by Eleanor Minney, 2018
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Think Tank Diagram Response by Eleanor Minney, 2018
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Segment of aself (detail) by Eleanor Minney, 2018
Exhibition
Switching Perceptions by Eleanor Minney
5 Jan 2019 – 30 Mar 2019
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 09:30 – 17:00
- Wednesday
- 09:30 – 17:00
- Thursday
- 09:30 – 17:00
- Friday
- 09:30 – 17:00
Cost of entry
Free admission
Address
- Bethlem Royal Hospital, Monks Orchard Road
- London
England - BR3 3BX
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- The bus stop directly outside the main entrance is Bethlem Royal Hospital, with buses 356, 119 or 198 stopping there.
- Eden Park Station (30 mins from London Bridge) followed by a 15 min walk or 5 min bus ride (356 bus towards Shirley). East Croydon Station (15 mins from London Victoria), followed by roughly a 30 min bus ride (119 bus towards Bromley or 198 towards Shrublands).
Bethlem Gallery is delighted to present Switching Perceptions, a new exhibition by artist Eleanor Minney in collaboration with Professor Liz Tunbridge and patients from the National Psychosis Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital.
About
In Switching Perceptions, a new body of work spanning textiles, drawing, clay and handwriting, Minney untangles the fragile threads of the human mind through delicate, detailed explorations into what creates a sense of self, and the relationship to psychiatric conditions.
Dissecting the gallery space is Segment of aself, Minney’s four-metre long textile work, featuring two lengths of calico separated by thick wadding. On one side are hundreds of hand drawn ciphers alluding to a person’s holistic sense of self - relationships, spirituality, illness and wellness, home, movement, communication - and on the other side, row upon row of genetic markers, only three of which relate to psychotic illness. On the walls of the gallery are smaller textile pieces combining stitch, drawing and natural elements, including Calcium channels and Test sample garden, the artist’s explorations of brain, body and environment.
Switching Perceptions also presents work by two patients from the National Psychosis Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital, with whom Minney has been working for the past three months. The patients have created a series of drawings and text works exploring their own sense of self, belief, faith, feelings and nature. Some are diagrams created around the concept of a think tank, developed by one of the patients as a way of connecting clinicians, academics, patients and other specialists. The think tank will expand into a public event for the exhibition with contributions from Eleanor Minney, Prof. Liz Tunbridge and other specialists.
Switching Perceptions has developed from Eleanor Minney’s two-year collaboration with Liz Tunbridge, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Medical Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, exploring the question, ‘What creates a sense of self?’. Tunbridge’s ongoing research aims to elucidate the links between genetic heritage and predisposition to schizophrenia, with Minney’s artistic enquiry probing some of the central themes and implications of this challenging meeting between science and subjective human experience.
Switching Perceptions is supported by The Royal Society Public Engagement Fund and the University of Oxford Public Engagement Seed Fund.
