Giving and Receiving
Victoria Ingrams and Elizabeth Cheng
For our artwork, we chose to appreciate the donors who have entrusted us with their bodies to further our studies and on a wider scale, all others within our sphere of aid when we begin to practice. These donors are pioneers of a system that is kind, supportive, and sharing; through their lives, they enable others to flourish.
We chose to create a sculpture of a handshake to celebrate the partnership between donors and medical students, portraying two equal and anonymous hands. The title of the piece, Giving/Receiving, probes viewers to consider their notion of a patient-doctor relationship, and in turn, the bridge between life and death. We also hope that such a physical presence invites viewers to imagine themselves in either or even both roles- as one patient becomes a donor, or a doctor becomes a patient. Just as lives depend on our work, our work depends on the lives and kindness of each and every donor.
Year One
Exhibited at the Foundations of Medicine Student Conference 2019
Exhibited at the Foundations of Medicine Student Conference 2019
I think this is a beautifully simple and powerful piece of art as it flips the relationship between doctor as enhancer of life and patient as receiver to that of patient as provider (of knowledge and experience), and doctor as recipient of this gift. It can be taken as a reflection on the precariousness and precious nature of life and ways of healing, which so depend on sacrifice and sharing. The attributes of bravery, selflessness and caring for others, often associated with medical professionals, are yet more touching in this piece as attributed to patients themselves donating their own bodies to contribute to the medical profession and, in turn, helping save others’ lives. Hopefully this piece will encourage medical students to reflect on both the privilege of their position and the interdependent nature of the service they provide.
I found this sculpture to be portray the emotion and gratitude behind body donation incredibly well. The way that the hands are positioned seems to be representative of thankfulness, as if the doctor is thanking the donor for their kindness and trust, and appreciating the fact that they have learned so much from the donor, even after they passed away. Without the donor they would not be the doctor that they are today. The sculpture seems to be representative of the cyclic nature of life, and how the doctor could just as easily become the donor later on in life. The title of “Giving/Receiving” is also clever, as it shows how the doctor may give to the patient whilst they are alive, but the patient gives their body for donation, therefore giving something incredibly powerful – knowledge – even when they have passed away. The positioning of the hands reminds me somewhat of “The Creation of Adam”, which ties back in to the giving/receiving theme – the patient is giving the doctors the ability to understand the human body, something that could not have been possible without their selfless donation. The emotions around body donation are strong, and this piece encapsulates them very well.
I think this is a great piece that is showing the relationship between doctor and donor. I view the hands themselves as if they are showing what each side can offer the other in this partnership – the doctor has the surgical glove which I see as representing hygeine and the promise of health, whereas the donor’s hand is stripped to show its internal structure which represents the organs and body parts the donor is giving. A handshake requires two people in an equal postion and so it shows the thanks both the donor is giving the doctor but more importantly the doctor is giving the donor. They are relying on each other and both are contributing to the realtionship, and as shown in the piece, the handshake. The title also highlights this as again both are giving and recieving – it isn’t a set role. Overall I think it’s a not too complex yet extremely powerful piece.
This piece particularly stuck with me as I have found my interactions with the donated bodies in anatomy class to be quite a heavy experience. I like how this piece focuses on the gratitude we as medical students should have towards the donors. I am glad this piece was created, as when viewed by us as medical students it forces to reflect on how the donors have trusted us with their bodies after they have passed. We have a duty to not only respect the specimens, but also to not waste the use this incredible resource and use it to help us learn as future doctors. By the action of the donors hand shaking ours, it triggers us to think of these donors as people, and not just inanimate specimens that we see. These people had lives and families and I think it is important to remember that in order to show them the greatest respect we can.
This sculpture is powerful and realistic. The handshake pose in this piece conveys the gratitude that many medical students, including myself, feel towards those who choose to donate their body. It shows the interdependent relationship present between the two, much like many relationships in a healthcare setting. The theme of giving and receiving is interesting because doctors are usually seen as ‘giving’ and patients are ‘receiving’. However, when it comes to medical school, the patients we talk to and the donors in our anatomy class are giving us invaluable information and experience. Anatomy sessions can sometimes be daunting, but thinking about the generosity of the donor helps me to understand how lucky we are and appreciate the donor as a person.
I believe this art could be interpreted in two ways. I think one is showing the gratitude that medical students should feel towards those who donate their bodies in the efforts of helping us learn. I also think it could be interpreted as showing the duality of science and humanity in medicine with the hands reaching out an touching but with one gloved and one with the skin removed.
This sculptures highlights the difference between giving and receiving, as well as the relationship between doctors and their patients.
How in order for the relationship to work they need to cooperate together and therefore build a rapport through trust.
The deeper qualities of the connection and how both are necessary for it to work are the main subject of the piece.
However, it also demonstrates the mutual respect and gratitude they each have.
It could also show how each hand relies on the other and they have a duty to work together to achieve the best outcome
As soon as I saw this artwork I felt almost connected. This sculpture highlights the interconnectedness between doctor and patient. As a medical student, our education is enhanced by the use of donors as this artwork shows how we future doctors can appreciate what these donors have provided for us in terms of education. As the size of the hand of both the doctor and the patient/donor are the same, this paints the picture that we doctors can go on to become patients or donors and how, as a doctor, we have many different roles we fit into on a daily basis: mother, sister, daughter, friend and ultimately doctor. I really like how this artwork blurs the line between doctors becoming patients as it happens all the time. Furthermore, the interconnectedness of the hands shows how important the doctor-patient relationship is and building that strong rapport is essential in providing good healthcare.
I like this sculpture because it epitomises a very important part of medicine. It portrays the link between the humanity and science aspect of medicine, portraying the important part humanity and donors plays in the training of future doctors scientifically. The sculpture portrays two hands shaking, that of a donor and a medical student, expressing the gratitude students have for donors who donate their bodies for their training. I also like the fact that the sculpture shifts the dynamic of healthcare proffesionals and patients where typically doctors are providing for patients however in this its showing the opposite. It shows the important part patients play in giving valuable information to students helping them significantly.