As the Joyce Cutler-Shaw Artists in Residence at UCSD School of Medicine, we are honored to have the opportunity to create artworks for display on campus. We recently created and/or installed two large sculptures and one large drawing, each approximately 8 feet in height or length.

Toxic Cocktails is a ceramic piece that refers to medicines removed from the market by the FDA. We also created a video documenting part of the process of creating the work which can be accessed via QR code below.  The other sculpture, A Brief History of the World in Extruded Plastic, is an ironic take on history and evolution. Both are on permanent display in the Biomedical Sciences building and were featured in the School of Medicine’s annual report.

Prayer Rug: Be not Afraid focuses on facing and overcoming fears. This drawing depicts every sort of natural and man-made disaster that can befall our planet,   Viewers can be consoled by deciphering the secret message of hope, delivered in binary code, near the lower center of the drawing. The drawing is also accompanied by a video, which can be accessed via QR code.

We are also currently engaged in the process of writing a book about the class that we team-teach at UCSD. It’s a drawing class for first year med students, but we are also charged with helping the students maintain a sense of empathy, which plays an important role in patient care and outcomes. As part of our research, we have met with Dr. Joseph Gonnella, Dean of Thomas Jefferson University medical school (Philadelphia) and Dr. Mohammadreza Hojat, who coauthored an empathy scale that is used for medical students around the world.

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