Compassionate and Caring

25/05/17

Transplant and Life

RCS: Hunterian Museum

Tim Wainwright, John Wynne, TGA: C-I

 

Is compassion in care under threat in our increasingly fast paced and technological lives? Are the companion technologies that shape our lives and behaviours being used to bring people together, to heighten their connection to those around them, or do they have the opposite effect?

There is no single application of technology that could claim to resolve all the challenges revolving around person-centred care, however, Transplant and Life is one project that uses technology considerately to pioneer new types of connections, understandings and conversations between patients, clinicians and the public.

Today we are living through the adolescent years of Person Centred Care, a time of experimentation, learning, growth and of course failures too. While apps seem to come and go, the Transplant and Life exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons Hunterian Museum is the latest expression of the ongoing project started in 2006, by artists Tim Wainwright and John Wynne.

In this manifestation, Tim and John, took the bold step to build digital layering and interaction into the exhibition experience. This created a unique series of opportunities, as a visitor and contributor, to connect with the patient experiences and explore the deep knowledge that surrounds the field of transplantation. Beyond this, the openness and accessibility of the platform has enabled anyone to explore these intimate accounts of life before, during and after organ transplantation through their own companion technologies (smartphones and tablets).

Looking to the future, with the Hunterian Museum now closed for three years, Transplant and Life is moving into a new phase of existence: One that can naturally evolve around a super versatile and accessible digital presence. By making this choice, Tim and John have done something rather special; they have by-passed significant barriers that traditionally limit the amount of exposure and interaction people can have with a project.

Recognising the increasingly dominant social and behavioural trends towards ‘mobile first’ investigation and connection, Tim and John not only accepted this but built it into the very fabric of the project.

No longer encased and showcased within the museum environment, Transplant and Life will now look to have a primarily online presence. Thanks to the flexibility and forethought of this mixed media project, this new presence is one that can adapt and grow and refocus as new stories or experiences are included, as new research, understandings or procedures become available.

While digital may be ‘the future’, Transplant and Life has not left the real world. It also has the ability to rematerialize in a huge variety of refined physical forms, from temporary exhibitions, to touring digital installations, to interactive postcards! It could become location-based, responding to the needs and environment in which it finds itself – a home, a waiting room, a classroom, etc.

At TGA, we are very proud to have worked on this project with Tim and John. We have been very impressed with how it has been received by the patients and clinicians, in professional circles and by the public at large. Now, we are excited to see what the new life Transplant and Life will look like in the coming months and years.

You can explore the experiences of transplantation by following this link.

If you think Transplant and Life might be something useful to you, your work or someone you know then we are always open to discussing interesting ways that the project might be made available to you.