"When we go into the garden and see a butterfly, we know he's here"
"Those left behind walk in the valley of the shadow of death"
"Human scaffold" .. "We all needed support"
"From just one person"
"From a dark place- if tom's life helped someone.."
"I wouldn't want to walk down the street and see someone with his eyes"
"He flew to close to the ground"
"You are giving a part of your body away- it won't be wasted"
"Even children can donate"
"You are just a shell"
ORGAN DONATION- A DISSECTION OF CONNECTIONS
Ten illustrations exploring thoughts and viewpoints from
organ donator families and organ donation recipients.
By Bella Woodfield 2019
Organ donation is a subject that many people probably think about
, maybe even discuss with loved ones, occasionally, and then neatly
park it on a shelf in their minds.
And when the unthinkable happens, a partner dies or someone we
know becomes gravely ill, thoughts of organ donation may
sometimes surface again.
For this project, I was asked to produce ten illustrative pieces based
on audio interviews from people who, all in some way, have been
touched by organ donation.
Hearing the interviewees often heart wrenching accounts felt, on one
hand, intrusive and at the same time, a privilege - after all, death, in
particular coupled with organ donation, is not something we talk that
openly about, and listening to each personal story, trying to visualise
the heartbreak and loss, tempered with love and life, lead me to
explore the links and juxtapositions between the ethereal and the
tangible; Death with beginnings; Loss alongside Reclamation, and
Generosity beside Guilt.
The audio interviews, although each interview personal, often had
crossovers with other interviewees viewpoints, so I deliberately kept
the pieces “non-specific”
eg. No identifiable “straight” portraits.
I was also intrigued by the connections that bind us all, sometimes
strongly, sometimes less so- whether those connections are physical
or metaphysical; emotional or clinical.
The final pieces are intended to be an amalgamation of feelings and
responses toward organ donation, and hopefully, a catalyst for
more open discussions surrounding the subject.
Further information regarding this project can be found via
Dr Rebecca Scott at cardiff University
https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/609171-scott-rebecca