Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, London, United Kingdom NW12BE
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The Wellcome Foundation is a global charity founded in 1936 after the death of Sir Henry Wellcome, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur who left his considerable wealth and collection of historical medical items to be used to improve health through research.
Since 2007, part of that mission has been delivered through substantial free exhibitions in well-appointed premises near Euston station – funded, like all the charity’s activities, by the returns on a £40bn investment fund. There is typically one large group show annually which mixes scientific and broader informational exhibits about a theme of medical interest with artworks exploring the issues. This produces an interestingly different perspective on such matters as the need for water, health rights at work, milk and – currently – ‘The Coming of Age’, from which I take Daphne Wright’s unfired grey clay version of a Zimmer frame. ‘I just took the outline skeleton of the Zimmer that I suppose really recognised the human body becoming more skeletal-like’, says Wright, ‘and this was a particular extension of that’.
If you visit, you will also find ‘Being Human’, a permanent exhibition from the collection; and usually one or two smaller shows, often from artists facing a medical challenge. At the moment, there’s a retrospective of Audrey Amiss (1933–2013), revealing how she used her art to speak out against harmful treatment within the mental health system. By way of a healthy bonus, the Wellcome may well have the capital’s best institutional café.
Paul Carey-Kent selects a ‘Gallery of the Month’, a ‘Show of the Month’, a ‘Work of the Month’ and a ‘Book of the Month’ for his weekly column in FAD. A collection of previous gallery columns, ‘Paul’s Galleries To Go’, is available from FAD Bazaar.
