Art on the Psychiatric Ward

The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre
V&A
 
Artist and Royal College of Art tutor, Harold Offeh, was commissioned by Hospital Rooms, the arts and mental health charity, to work with patients from the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at Bethlem Royal Hospital to bring art into these clinical settings. Offeh describes the resulting collaboration as “paying focused attention to the overwhelming possibilities of our external environment.”
 
The participants mapped their experience of their immediate surroundings through detailed rubbings of the architectural surfaces. These were then incorporated into dizzying lenticular patterns by Offeh, who later combined them with audio pieces sampling jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie and readings exploring mindfulness—the mental process of paying attention to the present moment, which is often used to reduce stress and anxiety.
 
At the Great Exhibition Road Festival, Offeh will bring this project to the V&A stage. Part audio-visual performance, part discussion of Offeh’s practice and inspiration, it promises to be a fascinating exploration of how art can transform any space and the perspectives of the people who reside within it.