Under the Iceberg
Art & Science of Medicine collaborative piece
An acrylic portrait depicting the repressed symptoms of a patient that embodies the clinical iceberg. Our aim is to show that not every patients’ symptoms can be actively seen on the surface and that every person has individual barriers to seeking clinical help.
Katrina Ashford, Leah Bolchover, Alexander Cavenagh, Farai Chiwah, Lisa Dwyer-Joyce, Veronica Faluyi, Thomas Greenslade, Benjamin Hartshorn, Barakat Hussein, Julia Kan, Ahmad Khalaf
Year One, 2017
Exhibited at the Foundations of Medicine Student Conference
Year One, 2017
Exhibited at the Foundations of Medicine Student Conference
I particularly like the contrast in texture in this piece. The way the scratches and colour across the patients eyes appears almost violent seems to depict the inner turmoil people can face whilst appearing fine on the surface. I love the way the eyes are covered,I feel as if there’s a barrier in communication between the subject and the viewer not dissimilar that between a patient and a doctor when only the tip of the iceberg has been uncovered. A very moving piece.
I like how the piece shows the importance of good doctor-patient relationships in order to break through individual barriers that can prevent patients from seeking help. The phrases written over the patient’s eyes were powerful and the obstruction of the eyes is very effective.
This piece stands out to me because of the beautiful way it depicts such an important message – a patients presentation of symptoms often just scratches the surface of the real underlying problem. It also highlights the importance of a doctors tact and compassion in every consultation as if a patient doesn’t reveal the full extent of a problem the doctor cannot possibly give the right advice.
Something I find particularly intriguing about this piece is the attention to detail regarding the ambiguity of the eyes. Something integral to non-verbal communication is eye movement and facial cues, and I think this piece really captivates how important seeing past dialogue and ‘below the iceberg’ is. Furthermore, the painting alludes to the difficult nature of seeing beyond just visual symptoms – often in healthcare so much of what a patient struggles with cannot be seen, this is further displayed by the aggressive style behind the distortion of the eyes.
I thoroughly enjoyed studying this piece. I feel as though it clearly encapsulates the intense feelings of uncertainty surrounding patients, both to themselves and to their physicians during the diagnosis stage of treatment. The blurred covering around the eyes is especially captivating as it shows how isolating life can be for a patient, when they are held back by a barrier, in this case: repressed symptoms. I feel as though this painting can be applied to the perspective of a physician, in attempting to diagnose and treat a patient, but finding it difficult to see the complete image, surrounding a particular case.
That’s amazing, I really like your comment. And the way you think in depth about this image.
This is a really beautiful piece. The harsh, chaotic brushstrokes covering the eyes starkly contrast the serene expression on the man’s face. Even those individuals who look okay on the surface may have underlying worries; every patient will have their own fears about getting help and it is the duty of a doctor to earn the trust of their patients and help them to overcome their own personal obstacles. The quotes cleverly illustrate the huge variety of potential barriers to access to healthcare services that people experience.
This painting succeeds at portraying patients’ difficulties with seeking help from doctors even when experiencing health problems. As the quotes on the piece show, this can for reasons such as not wanting to waste the doctor’s time or thinking that the issue will resolve itself. These quotes that show conflicting emotion within the patient contrast the smile on his face; we often can not tell if patients are experiencing hidden issues. The smearing of the paint to cover his eyes – with the quotes written over – shows how the patient’s reasons for avoiding the doctor are obscuring his vision. The man’s age also adds to the sense that he has carried these thoughts throughout his life.
This piece was interesting to me as I feel that it perfectly encapsulates the views and even fears so many patients may have about something that other people may assume to be as simple as ‘just seeing the Doctor’. It made me think about how healthcare can change to break down individuals barriers of seeking clinical the clinical help they so often need and how even societal change may be needed to encourage people to see help especially with issues such as mental health conditions .
The way the patients eyes are covered with harsh brush strokes of many colours and different lengths, for me, depicts the uncertainty of many illnesses, both to the patient as well as the doctor. The different strokes encapsulates how unique each patient and their circumstances is. Furthermore, I like the way the eyes being covered links to the title of the piece, “under the iceberg”, as the scratching out of the eyes reminds viewers that in order to treat a patient effectively you need to go deeper than the surface as not all symptoms are easy to see. As well as this, quite often the patient will have to cross personal barriers to seeking medical help, and thus it wont always be as easy as looking at the patient and listening to their view on their illness.
I like how the patients eyes have been covered with harsh brush strokes, which are so expressive and key to non-verbal communication- we can’t tell if his smile meets his eyes- showing how hard it can be for doctors to illicit all the information they need to from patients in order to effectively treat them. This person can’t be identified from this painting , which reminds the viewer you cannot ‘see’ many diseases people are living with. The violent contrast in the brush strokes serves to show the barriers patients can have to seeking help- which are individual: from blinding themselves to the severity of their health problems to not wanting to accept their illness. The fact that the eyes are covered also shows how destabilising illness can be, and that the patient is in the dark about their health. The warmth of the colours used for the patients skin and shirt adds to my sympathy for them, and the harsh wrinkles on their forehead allude to their distress.
What attracted me to this piece was how the ‘barriers’ are revealed to the viewer gradually as the eye lingers longer. It is very effective in conveying the hidden aspect of barriers that patients face before they go to see a clinician.
With the initial glance, the removal of the eyes leads our point of view towards the mouth instead. The use of naturalism to convey an elderly gentleman’s smile has an inviting impact on a viewer to further examine the work. I imagine it as what a clinician prefers to see first or even as the artwork suggests, what the patient wishes to project on the outside.
My eyes were drawn up to the brush marks obscuring the eyes. Narrow strips of colour are effectively used to narrow my vision onto the phrases featured. “I can handle it on my own” in the corner particularly struck me.
The final barrier presents itself as the plastic covering the head. The reflections are incredibly reminiscent of ice. With this, the work ties effectively with its title ‘Under the Iceberg’.
I was particularly pulled to this piece. The eyes are obscured by harsh brushstrokes, reflecting how symptoms can be easily masked. It highlights the importance of non-verbal communication; it is hard to decipher his emotions from the rest of his face. His ‘thoughts’ show otherwise: he is distressed and repressing his symptoms. With his age, they lead me to wonder what may have influenced his own thought pathways. The mood of the painting feels quite a contrast with the warm colours used, creating a sense of discomfort for the viewer. This reflects the clinical iceberg: everything is not as it always seems.
The painting clearly sends the message of insecurity that many patients feel when they have symptoms and aren’t sure whether to consult a Doctor. The quotes on the painting indicate the inner thoughts that many patients have and the painting captures this feeling through the use of cold colours, which are perhaps referencing the ‘clinical iceberg’. The painting sends out the message of how important it is for patients to make the Doctor aware of all of their symptoms in order for them to help them in the best possible way.
The contradiction between the smile of the subject and the “storm” of conflicting thoughts in front of the patient’s eyes is a very clever metaphor for the inner turmoil they are facing. This piece particularly highlights how important the doctor impatient relationship is to be able to put the patient at ease and properly address their concerns. The patient in the piece is presented to have a quiet demeanour, and this is perhaps a commentary on how it is often the more quiet and elderly patients that are more anxious about their treatment.
Imagine you have a concern about your health, this concern consumes a large majority of your mental and physical energy in the period leading up to seeing a healthcare professional to air your concern. That worry manifests. “I’ll wait a week to see if it goes away on its own”, “It probably didn’t go away because I was stressed, give it another 3 days”, “I just know when I book an appointment it will go away the same day so I won’t just yet”. Now suppose this mental barrier was in addition to some physical constraint preventing you from seeking help. Guilt, embarrassment, pride, shame, denial, are all aspects that may prevent an individual speaking out. This artwork highlights an incredibly important aspect of healthcare. The contrast between the blurry eyes and realism of the rest of the subject’s face emphasises the patient’s own potential blindness to the barriers they are creating in their mind, stopping them from taking steps to help themselves. Similarly it also portrays their inability to see, reach, better health because of physical barriers which stop them from getting help. Patients may understate their symptoms, for these reasons it is vital that we become medical professionals who really listen to both what’s being said and look for what isn’t.