Bad News
Ruth Friedlander
Whilst on clinical attachment, I met a patient who was recovering from a myocardial infarction. He talked us through his story of diagnosis, rehabilitation, and his thoughts and emotions during this process.
I noticed that a topic that he often returned to was that of his family. When he was admitted to hospital, his thoughts were of ‘his boys’ – and he was scared about what would happen to them if he were to die. Now, discharged back in the community, there are worries about the financial security of his family, as he is not yet back at work and earning. This experience really got me thinking about the wider impact of ill health.
My sculpture is of a figure, bent over and sitting on some steps. Bad news has been given by a doctor, who has now left.
Here we see the repercussions of this news.
It is impossible to know who you are observing here – it could be the patient, or it could be their family or friends. Many features and anatomical details have been left out deliberately – the figure could represent anyone, of any age, ethnicity or gender.
The sculpture is painted with grey acrylic. I chose this shade to reflect the withdrawal of the figure from the outside world, through their worry and shock. While the intensity of their internal feelings may be raw, from the outside, they display a lack of engagement with the colour and intensity of external stimuli.
Creative Assignment Award Commended
What strikes me about this piece is the simplicity of it yet there is a complex message behind it. On my clinical placements I have also become more aware of the wider impacts of a patients ill health and how many different people are affected by one persons illness. I like how simply the figure is made and painted and how this means it could represent anyone in many different situations.
The sculpture albeit simple, but is as if you can feel the despair. I too have been on the receiving end of bad news, which has helped me be more aware that not only should empathy be shown to the patients but also their family and friends, which is why I like that the figure was purposely made simple, thus could represent anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, race, and regardless of their role in life, patient, family, friends.
This sculpture caught my eye straight away. I really appreciated the simplicity of the structure because it gives light to its significant message- the aftermath of receiving bad news. The lack of bright colours perhaps emphasises being left hollow and visually represents the feeling of being numb very well. My favourite aspect of this piece is that the anatomical details have been deliberately left out, so that it represents everyone regardless of our differences.
The sculpture really shows the reality of a patient being ill and the real effects as the bent over sculpture is both reactions of the patient but also how the family would react. the use of the dark shades such as grey really does show the emotions that might be hidden by the patient. and by leaving out details really shows this could be anyone and doesn’t require multiple sculptures as it shows this is how everyone would be reacting inside.
This sculpture is very simple however has a much deeper meaning to it. The plain white used highlights how numb the patient could be feeling. The dark grey surrounding the patient further emphasises how down they’d feel.