Paintings from the “Hypermobility” series by MANDEM were presented at two Canadian medical conferences as part of an interdisciplinary art exhibit.
“The Body Electric / Le corps électrique” art exhibit premiered in Quebec City at the International Conference on Residency Education (hosted by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada). It was also presented in Toronto at the AMS Invitational Symposium (hosted by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences).
The curatorial statement describes the exhibit as “a forum where artists and healthcare practitioners engage, bringing diverse perspectives and practices to open up dialogue and exchange related to medicine and healthcare. The Body Electric understands art as an intervention that explores, disrupts, deepens and reimagines medicine.”
About MANDEM’s work, the curators wrote: “Many of the artists provoke contemplation and engagement through beauty. In ‘Hypermobility’ MANDEM presents portraits of models with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome to engage the viewer with an often-overlooked condition.” MANDEM’s artist statement further explained that “respectfully-represented disabled bodies are rare in the art canon. Our classical realist paintings assert the worthiness of such bodies within the realm of fine art.”
MANDEM’s “Hypermobility” painting series has received multiple grants and has been exhibited in Italy, England, Canada, and the U.S.
Learn more about this project at http://MANDEMart.com/hypermobility.
The exhibit catalogue for “The Body Electric” is available online at https://thebodyelectric-lecorpselectrique.ca/digital-catalogue-2017/.