Workshop: Exposing the Archive: A Workshop on Medical Photography

Explore the relationship between images, knowledge, ethics and authorship through the medium of collage and/or zine-making.

Join Liz Orton, a visual artist working with photography, text, and performance for a free workshop in which you’ll be able to explore the relationship between images, knowledge, ethics and authorship through the medium of collage and/or zine-making. As contemporary researchers or creative practitioners, you will use visual and material forms of inquiry to consider how to respect the dignity of historical medical subjects, and how to acknowledge the challenges of sharing archival images, whilst also taking care of yourselves.   

We’ll be exploring freely available online visual material held at the Wellcome Collection. All craft materials will be provided. The materials have been carefully selected by the Ethics of Medical Photography project team, but due to the nature of medical photography, could include nudity and upsetting, outdated representations of mental illness, disability and race.

How to attend

This workshop will take place at the Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE.

The workshop is free, but registration is required. Please register via the online form.

Please note that participants must be 18 years or older.

Find out more

This workshop is part of the Ethics of Medical Photography: Past, Present and Future research project. The project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and run by De Montfort University and the University of Leeds in collaboration with Wellcome Collection. Find out more on the project webpage.

Image credit

William E. Gray, A hand held over a dark mark on a forearm, to demonstrate the manual treatment of ulcers. Photograph. Wellcome Collection. Source: Wellcome Collection. Licence: Public Domain Mark.