'This bewitching poison' has opened!

Wednesday evening saw the opening of 'This bewitching poison: alcohol and the Royal College of Physicians'- it was a great evening. I am really delighted with how the exhibition looks and it is already receiving plenty of interest.



The BBC did a fabulous feature on 'Alcohol in medicines' in the context of the exhibition, which you can view here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25712005

The subject of alcohol as a medicine is really just one part of the exhibition, but it gives clues to why alcohol is still seen sometimes as a tonic, a pick-me-up and even as a remedy. When I was working at Wellcome Collection, one of the guys serving in the staff cafe recommended honey and lemon with a dash of Jamaican rum to me as a cold remedy!

New art at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk

'The Tourists', Felbrigg Hall
2 May- 31 October 2014

'The Tourists' is an exhibition of contemporary art specially commissioned for the North Norfolk National Trust property, Felbrigg Hall.

The exhibition is a collaboration between the Norfolk Contemporary Art Society (NCAS) and the National Trust at Felbrigg and is curated by Caroline Fisher.





Three artists, Gayle Chong Kwan, Kate MccGwire and Claire Morgan have been selected on the basis of the nature of their work and their previous site-specific projects, some of which have been in other National Trust properties. They are producing sculpture and photography which responds to the spaces, objects and themes apparent at Felbrigg: the Grand Tour, birds and other wildlife, country sports and the nature of hereditary wealth are just some of the themes which are inspiring them.

The project is generously supported by Arts Council England, Norfolk Contemporary Art Society and the East Anglia Art Fund.

Caroline Fisher- current exhibition proposals

Here is a selection of exhibition proposals I am currently working on. All exhibitions are multidisciplinary including medical and surgical objects, books, artworks and in some cases video and audio recordings. Please leave a comment if you would like more information.




The Voice

An exhibition which explores both the speaking and singing voice.

It will look at voice production and reproduction, voice pathology and the changes in our voices that occur with male and female puberty and ageing. It will also delve into voice recognition and the fascinating world of voice forensics- identifying criminals by their voices.

I propose that the exhibition will largely be in the form of recordings of the voice on vintage and modern equipment. For example this Sony Voice Recorder from the the 1970s.

Sugar, diet and diabetes

Sugar is the new alcohol (just as alcohol has been seen as the new tobacco). I am currently researching objects relating to the history of sugar with a focus on health and the growth of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Just as with alcohol, sugar is no longer a special commodity, only affordable as a 'treat', but for some people it is consumed in almost every meal, with serious consequences for weight and health.

Potters' bodies

I myself have a secret life making ceramics (!) and as a result have developed an interest in twentieth and twenty-first century pots and potters. There is a close relationship between potters' bodies and the pots they make. In particular the hands, but the whole body is involved in making a pot. The interesting pathology of being a potter is an area which so far as I am aware has not been looked at before.

This bewitching poison, favourite objects

The exhibition 'This bewitching poison: alcohol and the Royal College of Physicians' opens today and I thought that over the next few days I would note down some of may favourite objects in the exhibition. I hope it whets the appetite to visit the show.

In Britain, beer was around well before the Roman invasion of 43BC, but it was the Romans who introduced wine to our nation and created rituals around drinking and feasting.

This little wine beaker, on loan from the Museum of London bears the motto PIE, a Latinised form of a Greek motto meaning 'drink and live' or even more strongly 'drink to live'. The beaker is broken around the rim- not surprisingly as it has a narrow base and is somewhat top-heavy, making it easily damaged. As with many Roman vessels the shape is bulbous, it widens out and then narrows again towards the top. The potter who threw it must have been pretty skilled to get this right. It is really satisfying to handle and I imagine that to hold it full in the hand would be a pleasurable thing. Almost like holding a favourite mug full of tea!

'This bewitching poison' about to open!

I was at the RCP last week installing the exhibition 'This bewitching poison' which opens to the public on Monday. 

Thanks to Emma, Beth and everyone at the RCP it has all come together very smoothly. The objects fitted on the walls and in the cases and all the lenders were happy with the results. I hope the visitors will be too.

There are some great combinations of objects- Hogarth's 'Gin Lane' and Martin Rowson's 'Priority Lane' form one of the most potent. But also some less obvious ones- a Liverpool football shirt alongside alcohol-related health promotion material from the 1980s and 90s and Temperance prints alongside a 1970s drink driving leaflet.

It is very timely that the issue of minimum pricing of alcoholic drinks has sprung back into the news too. This seems to be a story that the press keep coming back to. This time it was a letter signed by a number of eminent doctors and others objecting to the part the alcohol industry played in the government's decision to shelve minimum pricing.