The first time I met Geoffrey Harrison was at the exhibition celebrating the artworks he had created during his residency at Bart’s Pathology Museum. In that exhibition we saw surreal artworks of merged skulls, tongues, brains and hearts.
I caught up with him over a coffee to discuss his journey to where he is now and the latest projects he’s been working on. As Geoff is a down to earth and easygoing person, the conversation was very fluid and wide ranging but I’ve broken it down into a question and answer format so it’s easier to digest and comes across as more cohesive.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently undertaking another residency, this time at the Royal Veterinary College where I’m both painting and teaching students to draw anatomical specimens and diagrams. Drawing is something that the students haven’t done since secondary school so they find it really stimulating and it causes them to analyse things from an artistic rather than scientific angle, thus encouraging lateral thinking.
I’m struck by how the students aren’t ready for the amount of death involved in being a vet. They’ve largely entered this course because they love animals but in truth the life of a vet will involve putting down lots of animals and others that they can’t save.
The paintings at this college are much more representative and less surreal than those at Bart’s, with the subject matter including a monkey foetus, plush animals and a lab coat.
Geoff has created a video that sets out what he’s working on and his outlook on the world, and it’s available exclusively on FAD (password is geoff):
How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve always had this fascination with life and death but as my parents were medical illustrators, I tried my hand at very different art to what I produce today. But over time, I’ve come to realise it’s the scientific disciplines that appeal the most to me and that’s why I focus on science related imagery.
Are you working on anything aside from the residency?
Well, I became a little fascinated with the individual hand sanitisers at the college and I’ve made drawings of all the the different types available. I’m hoping to exhibit these in a gallery sometime soon. It also hints at the hierarchy of life as we use hand gel to preserve our lives but decimate the bacterial population.
My works also feature in a travelling exhibition called Fabrica Vitae and this show marks the fact it’s been 500 years since the birth of Vesalius – the great pioneer of modern medicine. It will travel to London where it will be on display at the Royal College of Art.
Would you ever want to become a ‘commercial artist’?
To sell art through a gallery has restrictions like a residency, in that you have to paint what sells. In a residency the rules are more rigid, but I feel that placing constraints on an artist challenges them to be more creative and innovative in their approach to creating art.
After our 45 minute chat we parted ways, and although Geoff may not have any art in exhibitions at the moment, I’m sure we’ll see more of his work in the near future – preferably the more macabre works of his that I find the most engaging.
To find out more about Geoffrey Harrison’s work, visit his website
