An installation, created from my dissertation, which explores the level of autonomy women have in medical spaces. The writing includes autoethnography, a form of qualitative research that seeks to describe and systematically analyse personal experience in order to understand cultural experience (C. Ellis, T. Adams and A, Bochner, 2011).
The Challenge
To capture the content of the dissertation and begin to understand how the female body is impacted by medical practices. It was also important to create a thought-provoking space to begin a conversation about how women are viewed and expected to behave in medical spaces and in wider society.
The Solution
An installation which imitates a doctor’s office with the aim to create a safe and empowering space for women to reflect on their experiences in such environments. The installation consists of two objects which juxtapose one another; one to represent the clinical treatment within the medical space and the other to provide education and reassurance to women when accessing such services.
Render of the sheet in context, in collaboration with Sophie Lake.
The Examination Table
An installation which imitates a doctor’s office with the aim to create a safe and empowering space for women to reflect on their experiences in such environments. The installation consists of two objects which juxtapose one another; one to represent the clinical treatment within the medical space and the other to provide education and reassurance to women when accessing such services.
The Juxtaposition
The examination table sheet demonstrates the objective, clinical and purely functional treatment my body was subjected to within the doctor’s office. In this context, I have utilised the NHS typeface to reflect these qualities.
In contrast, the notepad uses two humanist typefaces to subtly demonstrate the individuality of womanhood which should be acknowledged in the medical sphere. Both typefaces are designed by women to weave female voices throughout the structure of the publication. The overall aim of the notepad is to start a productive conversation about women’s health following the unsettling experience presented in the autoethnography.
The Doctor's Notepad
The publication embodies a doctor’s notepad from the top bind to the more subtle details such as the space to date and sign each page like a prescription.
The publication includes the entirety of my dissertation alongside other texts which were instrumental during the process of writing. Combined, the works create the foundation of a conversation about how women and their bodies are expected to behave within institutional settings.
Images of the publication, showcasing the top bind and detail within.
