The In-between-ness pilot study was a novel collaboration between professional artists, clinical researchers and people suffering from depression; to extend the exploration of experiential effects of antidepressant treatment. The research team worked closely with patients, through their doctors, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the North Wales Clinical School Research Department to explore the effects of treatment for depression.
April 2010 to April 2013
Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, Gwynedd
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Bangor University, Glyndwr University, Leeds Metropolitan University
– Karen Heald and Dr Susan Liggett,
– Dr Richard Tranter and Professor Rob Poole.
Supported by Arts Council of Wales, and the North Wales Clinical School Research Department
Forthcoming Expositions
2014 Exhibition In-between-ness dissemination of the Arts and Science research project, Pontio Centre, University of Bangor, Wales (dates to be confirmed), Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R., Poole, R. & participants.
2013 Exhibition In-between-ness exhibition of video installations, video stills, paintings and artist books from the artist’s response to the In-between-ness project as part of the Fifth International Conference on Internet Technologies and Applications, Gallery Sycharth, Glyndwr University (5th September – 31st October 2013), Heald, K. & Liggett, S.
2013 Exhibition In-between-ness: Using art to capture the changes to the self during antidepressant treatment collaborative exhibition of video installations, video stills, paintings and artist’s books as part of the Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, (2nd – 5th July, 2013) Edinburgh, UK, Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R., Poole, R. & participants.
Expositions
2013 Exhibition In-between-ness video stills / installations and paintings from the collaborative exhibition as part of the In-between-ness R&D project at Bangor Hospital, (11th January – 16th February, 2013) Oriel Pendeitsh, Caernarfon, UK, Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R., Poole, R. & participants.
2012 Arts Festival blink Poesy film projected inside Chris Squire’s Lightweight a 4m diameter inflatable sphere during blink’s digital arts festival in Conwy town centre, (26th – 28th October, 2012), Heald, K. & Farris, D.
2012 Film screening Adain Avion Film screening as part of the UK-wide London 2012 Festival and Wales’ major contribution to the Cultural Olympiad. LOCWS International and Adain Avion present selected artists’ videos screened inside the fuselage of a DC-9 airplane that has been converted into a mobile art space, social sculpture and travelling time capsule. Film screened at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, Wales, (24th June – 1st July 2012) Heald, K. & Bird-Jones, C.
2012 Exhibition Hamburg Vending Machine artwork selected as part of a group exhibition, Kunst Altonale, Hamburg, Germany, 2012, (15th – 17th June 2012) Heald, K. & Liggett, S. http:// www.hamburgvendingmachine.com
2012 Live Web Streaming Videoformes Film screening and live performance event in Trinty Church, Salford live streamed to Maison du Peuple, Clermont-Ferrand, France (15th March 2012). Heald, K. & Farris, D.
2011 Theatre Performance Song Books a live dance performance and recorded multi-screened film projections based on a realisation of John Cage’s Song 7, presented at The Riley Theatre, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Chapeltown, Leeds (1st December 2011) Heald, K. & Farris, D.
2011 Exhibition Venice. The Vending Machine: An Installation 3 pieces of artwork selected as part of a group exhibition. The dual sited installation, hosted by Italian partners Microclima, an artistic project at the Serra dei Giardini and with Laura Ostan at the Contemporary Art Galleria Perela, Venice (15th -30th September 2011) Heald, K. & Bird-Jones, C. and Heald, K. & Liggett, S. http://www.venicevendingmachine.com/catalogue.html.
2011 Exhibition Helfa Gelf / Art Trail open studios as part of the Arts in Health & Wellbeing Artist Group, Cartref Building, Ysbyty Bryn y Neuadd Hospital, Llanfairfechan, Conway, Wales (17th – 25th September 2011). Heald, K. & Liggett, S.
2011 Exhibition Helfa Gelf / Art Trail open studios as part of the Glyndwr Collective, Principals House, School of Art & Design, Wrexham, Wales (2nd – 25th September 2011). Heald, K. & Liggett, S.
Conference Papers / Seminars / Guest Lectures / Exhibition Catalogues
2013 Conference paper Time and the Chora: ‘Transitory strata’ and ‘in-between-ness’ within ‘dream films’. In: Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, B.ed. Time & Temporality in Language and Human Experience. Frankfurt am Main, Peter Lang. Heald, K. & Liggett, S.
2013 Conference paper Interdisciplinary Collaboration Methodologies in Art, Design and Media In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Internet Technologies and Applications (ITA 2013), September 10-13, 2013, Wrexham, UK. Wrexham, Glyndwr University.
Earnshaw, R., Liggett, S. & Heald, K.
2012 Conference presentation In-between-ness: Using art to capture changes to the self during antidepressant treatment. In: Proceedings of The European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) 12th Biennial Conference: Art, Science and Society: Art Questions, Art Knows, Art
Matters, November 8-10, 2012, Vienna, Austria. Vienna, University of Applied Arts (Die Angewandte). Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2012 Conference presentation In-between-ness: Using art to capture changes to the self during anti-depressant treatment as part of the ELIA 12th Biennial conference Art, Science and Society: Art Questions, Art Knows, Art Matters, University of Applied Arts (Die Angewandte), Vienna,
Austria (8-10 November 2012), Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2012 Conference presentation Time and the chora: ‘Transitory strata’ and ‘in-between-ness’ within ‘dream films’ as part of the TimeLing conference, Time & Temporality in Language and Human Experience, University of Lodz, Poland (11th – 13th October 2012), Heald, K., Liggett,
S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2012 Publication Play Serious following participation in a two-day event for practitioner-researchers, 2022 Northern Quarter, Manchester, UK (13th – 14th September 2012), Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R. www.playserious.info.
2012 Guest Lecture Art & Science Collaborations Consultancy for staff as part of the Art and Communication away day, at the Barnsley Campus, University of Huddersfield, UK (18th June 2012) Heald, K.
2012 Poster presentation In-between-ness: Using art to capture changes to the self during anti-depressant treatment, as part of the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Arena and Convention Centre, Kings Dock, Liverpool, UK, (Tuesday 10 – Friday 13 July 2012), Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2012 Online catalogue Hamburg Vending Machine following a group exhibition at Kunst Altonale, Hamburg, Germany, 2012, (15th – 17th June 2012) Heald, K. & Liggett, S. http:// www.hamburgvendingmachine.com
2012 Conference presentation The Art of Recovery in Depression organised by Cardiff University as part of Beating Bipolar: Bipolar Disorder and Psychoeducation, St Georges Hotel, The Promenade, Llandudno, Wales (4th April 2012), Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2011 Online catalogue Venice. The Vending Machine: An Installation following a group exhibition at the Serra dei Giardini and the Contemporary Art Galleria Perela, Venice (15th -30th September 2011) Heald, K. & Liggett, S. (p.51) http://www.venicevendingmachine.com/catalogue.html
2011 Seminar Art and Science Collaboration: The invisible event held at the Person Centred Care Group, School of Health and Social Care, University of Salford, Salford, (28 July 2011) Heald, K.
2011 Conference seminar Visualising the Invisible: Manifestations in Arts and Science Collaborations, Northern Arts and Science Network Conference 2011: DIALOGUES (19 March 2011), The Rose Bowl, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2010 Conference paper Visualising the Invisible: Artists work in mental health presented as part of the Capturing the Patient Experience (21 June 2010) at Glyndwr University, Wrexham, Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
2010 Conference paper Visualising the Invisible: Arts and Science Collaboration presented as part of the Claiming Creativity: Art Education in Cultural Transition (21 – 24 April 2010) at Columbia College, Chicago, USA, Heald, K., Liggett, S., Tranter, R. & Poole, R.
The In-between-ness pilot study was a novel collaboration between professional artists, clinical researchers and people suffering from depression; to extend the exploration of experiential effects of antidepressant treatment. The research team worked closely with patients, through their doctors, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and the North Wales Clinical School Research Department to explore the effects of treatment for depression. The aim of the study was to help us understand some of the effects of antidepressants and how people recover from depression.
This work was set in the context of a rapidly expanding knowledge of how the brain processes emotional stimuli, how these processes are affected by depression, and how these processes change in response to treatment. People with depression show characteristic changes in the way they perceive the world around them, particularly the way they interpret emotional stimuli, for example interpreting facial expressions in others. To inform future directions of research in this area this innovative art/science collaboration explored experiential changes during treatment with antidepressants. It built upon experience over several years of Arts in Health projects across Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, supporting professional artists in residence in a variety of health care settings across North Wales. The project was also inspired by previous studies using photography as a means to explore personal authenticity in children being treated with stimulants for ADHD (Singh, I. 2008). In addition to the aims of the psychiatrists, the artists were keen to explore the role of preverbal language and creativity for patients navigating the “in-between-ness” from depression to recovery. This was informed by concepts of preverbal language and ‘in-between-ness’ (Heald, K. 2013), and ‘psychological resonance’ (Liggett, S. 2008).
Karen Heald uses video as an imaginative artistic tool to create ephemeral site-specific artworks and non-linear ‘dream films’ that explore the philosophical sophistication of arts and science collaborations. Susan Liggett has been a practicing painter since the late 1980’s and is interested in creativity. The title of her PhD thesis was ‘psychological resonance’ and was an examination of five contemporary painters’ creative processes.
Karen and Susan worked one-to-one with the patients to explore how their view of themselves changed as they recovered from depression. This involved seeing patients before, during and after their treatment. The artists created objects imbued with exploratory text, to help focus the participants, to act on their creative impulses with the video camera to produce artworks. The patients were asked to respond to these visual prompts, which consisted of specific requests. For example, engraved around the rim of a magnifying glass was the wording ‘look more closely at something you have not really looked at before’. This helped the participants think in different ways about the images they were capturing. Participants began filming for 24 hours before commencing antidepressant medication, and continued throughout the first six weeks of treatment. Each week the participants met with the artists to review and discuss their films. From this visual analysis participants were encouraged to reflect on: how their emotional perception of their environment was changing; their sense of self and personal authenticity; and their sense of agency and affirmation in relation to their recovery.
The artworks, with consent, have since been displayed in exhibitions, discussed at conferences and will form part of an artist’s books made collaboratively between the artists and the participants.
The artworks, with consent, have since been displayed in exhibitions, discussed at conferences and will form part of an artist’s books made collaboratively between the artists and the participants.
Project Management focusing on curating public displays of the resultant artworks.
The participants sessions with the artists promoted independence and sustainability and appeared to have avoided the usual elation followed by an emotional decline. The participants voiced personal expressions of significant improvements through the relationship with the artistic methodology – as opposed to antidepressant treatment. Half of the group have already bought video cameras with the others also wishing to continue with filming and the creative process. Both the material generated by the participants and the response of the professional artists to this material are part of a touring exhibition, artist’s/participant book set and website. The first one took place in January 2013, and two further exhibitions are scheduled in July and September 2013, (please see forthcoming expositions). Building upon this experience several of the prompts from the In-between-ness project have also been exhibited in Venice, Italy during the Biennial (2011).