Day 10

Wellcome Collection - Bridging science and art. 

As soon as I walked in and saw maps of the world, the UK and greater London dotted with many stickers, I knew it would enjoy this exhibition, because I assumed that it would reference many cultures. 

Interactivity was at the heart of the Idiosyncratic A - Z human condition exhibit. I believe that this is hard to find in exhibitions within greater London, however I feel that exhibitions are increasingly including an interactive aspect in their exhibits e.g. Sensing Spaces (Royal Academy), Digital Revolution (Barbican), and Michael Landy: Saints Alive (National Gallery). 

On one side of the exhibit from letters A-X brought people involved to share how they felt about topics through polls, drawings, social media, lighting candles and even eating fortune cookies! However this was only half the exhibition, the other half consisted of examples of qualities and beliefs of what makes us human. The main aspects that stood out to me were grief and acts of faith. At the grief section one could light a candle for someone who has passed away. At the acts of faith block, there were paintings displayed such as ‘A man praying to the Virgin as he is ran over by a horse’, ‘Woman thanking Madonna del Parto for a cure of insanity’. I was especially intrigued by these images in comparison to the traditional Italian religious pieces of art.

Lastly I found the near death experiences area quite moving, because the way they were illustrated by the artist added a more animated dimension to people's stories. This might have been done so the stories didn't completely scare people away. 

Another aspect of the exhibition that I found captivating was how far society has moved away from pseudoscience, which made me question why do some people hold onto this aspect in their life?