Hidden Stories of the Heart at the Science Museum
HIDDEN STORIES OF THE HEART
An exploration of research into how trauma can have an impact on the structure and function of the heart.
Our hearts are often thought of as our emotional centre. Advances in medical imaging have furthered our understanding of our hearts and studies suggest that stress from extreme life events can have an impact on the structure and function of the heart.
Drawing on personal accounts of women from the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry and methods of analysing cardiac images, Hidden Stories of the Heart translates experiences of extreme stress into abstract models and sounds of the heart to explore how stress and disease can affect our vital organ.
The use of paper mache- which sees distressed, shredded paper transform into a strong structure- echoes the resilience of the women and their hearts.
Artists x Scientist
Folashade Elizabeth Olukoya
Elizabeth Olukoya is a PhD student at the Royal College of Art. Her wide-ranging research investigates paper-mâché’s processing and physical properties as a conduit for imagining resilience for disempowered women.
Sophie Richter
Sophie Richter is a Masters student at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, where she focuses on designing programmable medical materials to change the way we heal and treat the human body.
Marica Muffoletto
Marica Muffoletto is a PhD student at King’s College London. Combining artificial intelligence and imaging, her interest is mainly in cardiovascular research and automatic diagnosis of diseases.
