Alexander Luke Osborne – Prestige

In The Anatomy of Disgust (Miller, 1997) Miller denotes that disgust is derived from two key areas accordingly: whether the feeling of disgust involves the emission of any raw bodily matter, or, from a disgusting smell, sound or sight. The latter form of disgust, that is derived from using the key sense organs (nose, ears and eyes) are more susceptible to ‘spiritual invasion’ (Miller, 1997, pg.89), an invasion of the ego* In this first chapter, it will focus on the act of ‘looking’ at the disgusting, and the crisis in which the viewer has when faced with viewing something that elicits disgust.

‘Art is not, in essence, a leisure pursuit’, an exercise in therapy or act of self-expression, but rather a primary quest for meaning and understanding.’ (Abbs, 1989, pg.35) This non-expressional quest for understanding, it would seem, is central to most, if not all contemporary artist’s practices. Subjects in which artist’s chose to understand and explore, can be said to range between two key areas: the pleasurable and the painful. Brook suggests:

‘We do not only celebrate good things in the popular sense of the term. We celebrate joy, sexual excitement, and all forms of pleasure; but also as an individual or as a member of a community through our cultures, we celebrate violence, despair, anxiety and destruction. The wish to make known, to show others, it is in a sense a celebration.’ (Brook, The Symbolic Order, 1989, pg.37)

It is this second form of ‘celebration’ in which Brook discusses, that would be more likely to elicit disgust, over the celebration of which is pleasurable (with the exception of sexual pleasure, depending on its context): celebrating subjects of discourse, pain and other forms of human despair they have experienced. One such artist who chooses to celebrate violence, despair, anxiety and destruction, is the artist and photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin, who delves head-first into such themes, re-creating things thought to be grotesque, then equalizing, if not surpassing them, into symbols of beauty. This of course, is not a new concept within the history of art. Images such as the crucifixion of Christ, or the spectacle of a damaged human body: The mutilated, dying or dead: The broken body: Often these images are as grotesque as they are beautiful, as pitiful as they are magisterial.

In a stroke, the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off.There are two types of stroke: ischemic – when a clot blocks the artery in your brain; and hemorrhagic – when the artery pops and the blood damages the cells in the brain.

Symptoms come almost immediately, which can be very frightening for the patient and those around them. Without a supply of blood, your brain cells don’t get enough food and oxygen. The symptoms you get depend on which part of your brain is affected and also if the lack of blood supply is temporary (Transient Ischaemic Attack) or permanent (Cerebro VascularAccident).

In the time when blood supply is cut off, you may experience following symptoms: head ache, nausea, dizziness, confusion, inability to speak, general weakness with paralysis of one part of your body and you may feel very sleepy.

Also people around you may notice that your face sweats, your face expression is asymmetrical.

It is very important that A&E is called immediately and you receive help straight away.

After the accident there are two phases seen with patients which differ in symptoms and according to them the approach.

Acute phase – lasts a few weeks depending on the type of stroke. In this phase, one side of the victims body is weak or completely flaccid. The person has no sensation in this side apart from pain. the weakness and other symptoms may spread to less affected side as the brain tissue is still swollen. It is important that the blood pressure is being monitored, and the patient is repositioned properly to both sides and back. Proper repositioning will increase sensation and has got great influence on developing neglect syndrome in later phase.

The therapist will focus on body mapping using external stimulus as well as proprioceptive stimulus.

Chronic phase – starts whet the tonus on direct affected side is rising and is noticeable. It is very important to start physiotherapy as soon as this happens. Regeneration process happens thanks to the so called plasticity of nervous system. This is the power of the nervous tissue to create more and more new connections between cells.

The spontaneous regeneration process without physiotherapy will create too many connections with different, not related to the function cells and as an effect it will create spasticity in direct affected side and pathological movement patterns.
Spontaneous regeneration affects your movement as well as balance activity. It happens not only on direct affected side but less affected side as well because the swell of the brain tissue in the acute phase damages both hemispheres.

The quicker the therapy starts the more function you will gain and the less pain you will suffer in the future that may come from mal-alignment of the joints.

It is very important that all the family and carers are involved in the therapy as it speeds up recovery process.

 

With one of the Mannequins, I decided to fit Fishnet Stockings onto them. They would be reminiscent to the Stockings I wore in Hospital…

 

 

 

 

These are some pictures from Katarzyna Konieczka Facebook page. They are there to inspire me…