Epilepsy and Me: Behind the Exhibition with Ria
Epilepsy and Me is an exhibition from Pyramid artist Ria Lake which brings together personal stories with art and archive objects from the Thackray Museum of Medicine. The exhibition at Thackray Museum, which opened in April, explores epilepsy through art, lived experience and historical objects, creating an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage people to think differently about the condition.
The exhibition was inspired after a visit to the museum. Ria explains the exhibition is ‘about stories from pyramids members and medicine from the museum’ and that it was inspired ‘because me and Alice went to the museum and noticed they was no information regarding epilepsy or brains in general.’
Ria worked with the curation and archive team to look at the museum’s collection of historical objects relating to epilepsy and created artwork in response to these items. Ria enjoyed their time working with the museum: ‘they were really helpful very open to ideas.’
Discovering the archive
Working with objects from the archive offered a chance to look behind the scenes at the museum and explore its collections in a different way. The historic objects provided a starting point for Ria and her fellow artists to think about how epilepsy has been understood and treated in the past, while weaving their own experiences and perspectives to the exhibition.
When asked which object inspired Ria the most, they said: ‘I liked the old medication bottle with skeleton on back of the box, I used this the art I made in response to the archive.’
Creating the artwork
For the exhibition, Ria was keen to explore their screen printing practice. Ria says: ‘I created a 3 metres textile banner with some of old archive items I saw in museum and I screen printed this at Leeds Print Workshop. I used bright colours to make it look up to date.’
Ria’s piece gives the historic imagery a contemporary feel, bringing objects from the archive into the present day. The artwork connects the history of epilepsy represented by the museum’s collections with their creativity and experience.
The exhibition also brought together contributions from Pyramid artists Alfie Fox and D, who, like Ria, both have personal experience of epilepsy. Their stories and artwork add another important perspective to the exhibition, helping to ensure that lived experience is at the heart of Epilepsy and Me. Ria explains: ‘I know they had epilepsy them self’s and I know I’d get good response back from these two people in regards to their stories and art work.’
When asked what their favourite part about creating artwork and curating the exhibition, Ria says: ‘Getting to look at archive collections behind the scenes at the museum and seeing my friends create work for exhibitions.’
Raising awareness of epilepsy
At its heart, Epilepsy and Me is about raising awareness. Ria says she hopes that when people see the exhibition they’ll have ‘more awareness in regards for epilepsy as a lots people do not know what it really is.’
By bringing together historical objects, personal stories and contemporary artwork, Ria’s exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about epilepsy while seeing it from the perspectives of people with lived experience.
Epilepsy and Me is currently exhibiting in the Community Exhibition space at Thackray Museum of Medicine. For more information about the exhibition, visit: https://pyramid.org.uk/epilepsy-and-me
