Output details

Coming of Age - The ‘Coming of Age’ exhibition was first shown in 2011 at the Hancock Museum, in Newcastle, and featured two commissioned artworks from Cattrell ‘Memory’ (l & ll), and ‘Parting’ (l & ll)

This research and the exhibition ‘Coming of Age’ investigated and challenged the pre-conceptions, key societal issues, and prejudices around ageing. Central to the exhibition were a series of new commissioned artworks produced by artists Andre Carnie, Annie Cattrell and Jennie Pedley.

Cattrell worked closely with the multi-disciplinary research team at the Institute of Ageing, Newcastle University lead by world leading scientist Professor Thomas Kirkwood.

Two commissioned artworks ‘Memory’ (l & ll), and ‘Parting’ (l & ll) reflected Cattrell’s on going investigation into combining the empirical and poetic, in art and science, through new approaches in the making of sculpture and drawing.

This research innovatively combines state of the art digital processing techniques (3D modeling and rapid prototyping) and data gathering (from medical CT and MRI brain scans), with traditional sculptural techniques (such as casting and electroplating). This allows the mapping of living anatomy of the human brain and body (hitherto three dimensionally unseen and inaccessible) to be represented in sculpture.

Funding was successfully sourced from the Wellcome Trust, Arts Council England and Northern Rock to contribute towards the commissions and exhibition costs.

During the exhibition there were thousands of visitors who additionally had the opportunity to sign the Charter for Ageing which was also on display.

The exhibition included historical and contemporary artworks by: Henry Moore, Nicholas Nixon, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Maggi Hambling, Susan Hiller, Melanie Manchot, John Caplans and Jordan Baseman.

The ‘Coming of Age’ exhibition was first shown in 2011 at the Hancock Museum, in Newcastle, and subsequently in 2012 at GV art in London. Plans to tour this exhibition to Amsterdam in association with the Waag Society are currently being discussed.

It was also shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Awards 2011 in the Excellence and Innovation in the Arts.