Still Live : WestminsterResearch

Title	Still Live
Creators	Wright, A.
Description	4 digital colour prints, 59 x 80cm. 16-17th Century Dutch Vanitas paintings are symbolic works that represent themes such as the transience of life and the certainty of death. For this new series of photos I have appropriated symbolism from Vanitas and elsewhere to stand for the emotional aspects of heart transplantation. The photos explore some of the complex themes that arise for heart transplant recipients and donor families, such as: living and dying, proximity and distance, loss and rejuvenation, and the distinction between self and non-self. For example, in the first photo one of the tulips lives on amongst a decaying bunch, just as a transplanted organ lives on in another body, raising questions about identity and prolonged life. The letter in photo 3 refers to the thank you letters written by organ recipients to donor families that are often so redacted by intermediary authorities that they are meaningless. The photos function as modern Vanitas, asking viewers to think more generally about life and death, living and dying.
Keywords	Vanitas; photograph; heart transplant; symbolic; Still life
Year	01 Apr 2019
Files	STILL LIVE 1 for web.jpg
Files	STILL LIVE 3 for web.jpg
Files	STILL LIVE 2 for web.jpg
Files	STILL LIVE 4 for web.jpg
Image credit	Alexa Wright
Media type	Image

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People from ethnic minorities seeking help for Long Covid: a qualitative study.
Nina Smyth, Damien Ridge, Tom Kingstone, Dipesh P Gopal, Nisreen Alwan, Alexa Wright, Ashish Chaudhry, Sophie Clark, Rebecca Band and Carolyn A. Chew-Graham 2024. People from ethnic minorities seeking help for Long Covid: a qualitative study. British Journal of General Practice. 74 (749), pp. e814-e822. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp.2023.0631

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Smyth, N., Alwan, N., Band, R., Chaudhry A, Chew-Graham, C., Gopal, D., Jackson, M., Kingston, T., Wright, A. and Ridge, Damien T. 2022. Exploring the lived experience of Long Covid in black and minority ethnic groups in the UK: Protocol for qualitative interviews and art-based methods. PLoS ONE. 17 (10) e0275166. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275166

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Hybrid Bodies Chiasma Exhibition
Wright, A. 2018. Hybrid Bodies Chiasma Exhibition. The Winchester Gallery, Hampshire 14 - 27 Apr 2018

Papworth Hospital Heart Transplant Recipient Workshop
Wright, A. 2018. Papworth Hospital Heart Transplant Recipient Workshop.

When Words Fail, an interdisciplinary investigation into thephenomenological effects of heart transplantation
Wright, A. 2018. When Words Fail, an interdisciplinary investigation into thephenomenological effects of heart transplantation. Art Materiality and Representation (Royal Anthropological Society). British Museum/ SOAS, London 01 - 03 Jun 2018

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The Heart Project (exhibition and symposium)
Wright, A. 2017. The Heart Project (exhibition and symposium). London Gallery West 20 - 24 Nov 2017

BBC Radio 4: interview and excerpts of audio from Heart of the Matter in Print Me A new Body programme
Wright, A. 2017. BBC Radio 4: interview and excerpts of audio from Heart of the Matter in Print Me A new Body programme. BBC Radio 4.

Art/Sci Nexus, 9 Evenings Revisited
Wright, A. and Carnie, Andrew 2016. Art/Sci Nexus, 9 Evenings Revisited. 9 Evenings Revisited, in Theory as in Practice. KKW, Leipzig, Germany

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Wright, A. 2016. Phantom Limb. Victoria Museum and Gallery, Liverpool 09 Jul 2016 - 11 Feb 2017

Hybrid Bodies at KKW
Wright, A. 2016. Hybrid Bodies at KKW. Kunstkraftwerk, Leipzig, Germany 18 - 26 Sep 2016

Seeing Things As They Are : Visual Narratives of Embodied Experience
Wright, A. 2016. Seeing Things As They Are : Visual Narratives of Embodied Experience. Disability, Arts and Health Conference. University of Bergen, Norway 01 - 02 Sep 2016

Hybrid Bodies
Wright, A. 2016. Hybrid Bodies. Silent Signal. University of Derby, Derby 26 Feb 2017

Piecing it Together
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Wright, A. 2016. There's So Much More I Want To Tell You. Visions in The Nunnery, Bow, London

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Wright, A. 2015. Heart of the Matter - Crafting Anatomies. Nottingham 07 Jan - 04 Feb 2015

Piecing It Together Blog
Wright, A. 2015. Piecing It Together Blog.

Hybrid Bodies: the Heart Project
Wright, A. 2014. Hybrid Bodies: the Heart Project. University of Westminster. https://doi.org/10.34737/qqw60

Heart of the Matter
Wright, A. 2014. Heart of the Matter. London

Cadenza
Wright, A. 2014. Cadenza.

Monstrosity: the human monster in visual culture
Wright, A. 2013. Monstrosity: the human monster in visual culture. London I.B. Tauris.

A View From Inside
Wright, A. 2012. A View From Inside. London White Card.

A view from inside: portraying the experience of psychosis
Wright, A. 2012. A view from inside: portraying the experience of psychosis. Harris Gallery, Preston 6 - 19 Oct 2012

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Wright, A. 2010. Cover story. DaDaFest International, St George, Liverpool 12 Nov - 03 Dec 2010

Alter Ego
Wright, A. 2010. Alter Ego. Kreuzberg, Bethanien, Berlin, Germany 22 May - 8 Aug 2010

After Image
Wright, A. 2010. After Image. 21_21 Design Sight Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 16 Jul - 3 Nov 2010

Conversation Piece
Wright, A., Linney, A. and Lincoln, M. 2009. Conversation Piece. Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast 07 - 29 Aug 2009

Out of Order
Wright, A. 2009. Out of Order.

Alter ego
Wright, A. and Linney, A. 2008. Alter ego. BM Suma Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey 07 - 16 Nov 2008

Opera interna
Wright, A. 2008. Opera interna. Centro the Historia , Zaragoza, Spain 18 Mar - 11 May 2008

Cover story
Wright, A. 2008. Cover story. Bow Arts Trust, London 06 - 15 Jun 2008

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Alter Ego
Wright, A. and Linney, A. 2007. Alter Ego. SESI Art Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil 13 Aug - 09 Sep 2007

Semblance and resemblance: the face in art and medicine
Wright, A. and Clarke, A. 2007. Semblance and resemblance: the face in art and medicine. Intersections of Life and Death: Artistic and Philosophical Representations of Organ Donation and Transplantation Conference. University of Toronto 26 - 27 Apr 2007

Opera interna: first act
Wright, A. 2007. Opera interna: first act. Incheon Multicultural Centre, Korea 10 Oct - 16 Dec 2007

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Wright, A. 2007. Interactivity and identification: alter ego and conversation piece. FILE Symposium. SESI Arts Centre, Sao Paolo, Brazil 14 - 17 Aug 2007

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Wright, A. 2007. Interactivity and identification: a discussion of conversation piece and other recent works. Healthcare, Technology and Place Conference. University of Toronto 03 - 04 May 2007

'I'
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Cover story
Wright, A. 2006. Cover story. The Forum, Norwich 05 - 30 Sep 2006

At the edge of my-self
Wright, A. 2003. At the edge of my-self. Digital Creativity. 14 (3), pp. 139-143. https://doi.org/10.1076/digc.14.3.139.27869

Intimate strangers
Wright, A. 2003. Intimate strangers. London, UK CARTE, University of Westminster.

'I'
Wright, A. 2001. 'I'. Public Culture: society for transnational cultural studies. 13 (3), pp. 506-510.

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