Ambika P3 and the Casebooks Project at the University of Cambridge present CASEBOOKS: six contemporary artists and an extraordinary medical archive. This is a major exhibition engaging with one of the largest surviving sets of medical records in history. International contemporary artists Jasmina Cibic, Federico Díaz, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Rémy Markowitsch, Lindsay Seers and Tunga present six new works spanning sculpture, video and audio installation, live performance, robotics and artificial intelligence. They bring a diverse and radical range of practices to bear on the work of the Casebooks Project, which is editing the manuscripts of two seventeenth-century English astrologer-physicians, Simon Forman and his protégé Richard Napier.
There are additional events associated with the exhibition. On Wednesday 5 April, 6:30pm, there is an Exhibition Talk given by Alanna Heiss, Olivia Laing and Lauren Kassell, followed by drinks. Alanna Heiss is Founder and Director of Clocktower Productions and was Founder and Director of MOMA PS1 (formerly PS1 Contemporary Art Centre) from 1978 to 2008. She has curated more than 700 exhibitions at PS1 in art spaces around the world. She chaired the CASEBOOKS Curatorial Advisory Committee. Olivia Laing writes on art and culture for Frieze, the Guardian and the New York Times, and is the author of three acclaimed books, including The Lonely City. Lauren Kassell is Reader in the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Cambridge. She directs the Casebooks Project, and is the force behind this exhibition. This talk is free to attend, but booking is essential, via Eventbrite.
On Saturday 8 April, 2pm – there will be two Casebook ‘clinics’ offering help reading and understanding Simon Forman’s and Richard Napier’s casebooks. Participants should bring a laptop and a brief list of cases of interest. The events are free to attend, but places are limited – please reserve through Eventbrite.
CASEBOOKS is curated by Dr Michael Mazière and is a collaboration between the Casebooks Project, Ambika P3, and the artists. The Casebooks side of the collaboration has been led by Dr Lauren Kassell, Director of the Casebooks Project and Dr Natalie Kaoukji, Research Fellow at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. To find out more about the project and to download the book accompanying the exhibition, please visit the Casebooks Project website. All visitor details, including location and opening hours, are available on the exhibition website.
CASEBOOKS is funded by a Wellcome Trust Provision for Public Engagement, produced in partnership with the University of Cambridge and Ambika P3, supported by the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and Czech Centre London.