ARTISTS TALKING

Whilst working on projects, commissions and residencies – at an eating disorder clinic, Royal Armouries and The Thackray Medical Museum – I try to give something back to those I'm working with and my latest venture is no exception.

Last year I was approached by the Victoria and Albert Museum's contemporary team and invited to create new work for 'Short Cuts to Beauty', an event examining attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. The event seemed geared towards acceptance of these procedures, so I made work that considered them still taboo. The work evolved as a series of corsets which radically altered the wearer's face, albeit temporarily. The early face corsets were made from heavy cotton drill to suggest the aesthetic of an orthopaedic support and the introduction of external implants so the wearer could accessorize seemed logical.

People who undergo cosmetic surgery seem to wear the procedures as a status symbol or a way of buying into a lifestyle as other people do with branded clothing, jewellery and beauty products. It was during the process of trying to obtain cosmetic implants that I met Dr Ian Thompson. Based at Imperial College and Guys Hospital, he is the only person worldwide who makes and inserts bioglass implants into patients requiring facial reconstruction. Due to my experience in ceramics and mould making, Dr Thompson invited me to make my own bioglass implants for the face corsets, and to work with him to develop and produce implants for his patients.

We are continuing our collaboration to develop and produce new implants for his future patients and are seeking funding to develop the corsets in at least two directions: as minimal garments with maximum aesthetic facial contortion and as a universal localized pressure dressing for the treatment of burns victims.

All elements of face corset design, pressure dressing adaptation and bioglass implant refinement are interdependent for their mutual advancement – a truly complimentary sci-art collaboration with huge potential for clinical application.