Tamara's Touch and Immersion Project

For the past year I have been volunteering at the Toronto General Hospital and it has given me a new perspective on medicine. Working in the visitor's waiting room I have gotten to know patients indirectly through their family members and other visiting contacts. In this project I attempt to shed a new light on the patient. Instead of focusing the medical procedure, I highlighted the person (their memories, their places of origin, their family and loved ones) lying on the operating table. My reason for focusing on this subject stems from the dehumanizing approach by medical professionals. It is very common for doctors to neglect the beliefs and unique ways of life in favor of solving a physiological symptom. The result being that patients miss out of the psychological and spiritual healing process. In my project I had participants perform an operation on a faceless patient. Using an adapted mouse, they explored the inner abdominal cavity. When they pushed a shutter release button that extended out from the interior, different backgrounds of the patient were revealed. My artistic aim is to lead the way in developing a more holistic medical practice. One that is more sensitive to the idiosyncratic needs of each patient.