Rudy Loewe: Intimacies of Care – Spaces of Grief and Possibility visual story

‘Rudy Loewe: Intimacies of Care – Spaces of Grief and Possibility’ is an exhibition.

An exhibition is a collection of things to look at and learn about.

The exhibition is at Wellcome Collection.

The exhibition is in Gallery 2 on level 1 of our building.

‘Intimacies of Care – Spaces of Grief and Possibility’ is an exhibition. It is by artist Rudy Loewe.

This exhibition is about mental health. Mental health is how we think and feel in daily life.

Everyone has mental health. Like physical health, people can experience mental health problems. Mental health problems are sometimes called mental illness.

Having a mental illness can make everyday life difficult. People with mental illness may need care or treatment.

Care can mean help from services like doctors or therapy. It can also mean help from friends, family and community.

When Black people in the UK need mental health care, they are sometimes treated differently to others.

This can be because of racism. Racism means being treated unfairly because of your race.

Sometimes people giving care do not understand Black people’s lives. This might mean the care they give is not right.

Artist Rudy Loewe wants us to think about how mental health care could be made better for everyone.

The artworks in this exhibition are designed to be spaces for thinking and rest.

We invite you to spend as much or as little time in the exhibition space as you like.

There are 8 artworks in the exhibition. These include:

• sculptures
• sound work

• paintings

• a large structure you can sit inside.

There is also a film of artist Rudy talking about their work.

If you need any help, you can speak to a member of our team.

People sometimes speak quietly at an exhibition. But you do not have to speak quietly.

The lights are not very bright in the exhibition. This is to help make the space feel calm.

The sensory map shows you where these things are.  

We will tell you more about them later in this visual story.

Artist Rudy Loewe has written words to go with each artwork. The words give us ideas of things to think about when looking at the artwork.

Rudy has designed some tactile symbols for each artwork. You can touch these.

There is a screen with a British Sign Language video on the wall next to each artwork.

‘The Search for Care / The Lack of Care’ by Rudy Loewe

This artwork is a large, grid-shaped sculpture.

It is made from different coloured squares that light up.

You can look at both sides. On one side it has positive words. On the other, it has negative words.

The words are about the different experiences people can have when they experience mental health care.

The artist wants a future where we only have the positive experiences.

They made this artwork so we can think about different people’s experiences of care.

‘Intimacies of Care’ by Rudy Loewe and designer Johnny Chang

This artwork is a poem. It is printed like a poster.

It is about caring for people when they are sick.

It shows how the artist has been supported by their community. There are many ways to support someone.

The artist’s community includes other disabled QTIPOC+ people.

QTIPOC+ stands for queer, trans and intersex people of colour.

The poem invites us to think about how we can help others and make them feel supported.

‘Rage’ by Rudy Loewe

This painting shows a Black person and police officers.

The artist wants us to think about what is happening.

The person may be experiencing mental health problems.

Their behaviour may be misunderstood.

They may be seen as a threat.

The person may need care and support.

The police officers may not understand what the person needs.

The police officers may think the person is dangerous.

This can make the situation become more serious.

The police stand in a line. They form a barrier.

They stand between us and the person in the painting.

The artist wants us to think about how this feels.

We may feel fear.

We may feel anger.

We may feel unable to help.

The flame-headed figure represents strong feelings.

It represents rage.

Rage means very strong anger that is hard to control.

‘It Takes a Community to Hold These Wounds’ by Rudy Loewe

This painting is about how we feel after someone dies.

We often experience strong, sad emotions, called grief. This painting shows someone feeling grief. People have come to take care of them.

Artist Rudy Loewe wants us to think about how it is important to take care of people when someone has died.

‘The Space Within’ by Rudy Loewe

This is a sculpture that you can walk inside.

The city can be very busy. Some people can find this stressful. Sometimes we might need a place to rest.

Artist Rudy Loewe designed this sculpture to be somewhere people can rest.

There is a red light in the space. This is to help the space feel calm.

‘Activation Sculpture’ by Rudy Loewe

This is a sculpture.

It is made to look like four hands holding each other.

The sculpture is about healing and care.

The sculpture makes sound. The voices are from people who did workshops with the artist.

Sometimes the sculpture changes.

The hands open out.

When this happens, you can sit inside the space.

It becomes a place to rest and gather.

The sculpture is about people holding and caring for each other.

It is also about taking time to heal together.

‘List of Demands’ by Rudy Loewe

Artist Rudy Loewe worked with other people to make this painting. They had workshops where people shared their ideas. The workshops were about experiences of mental health care.

The painting shows a list of demands. Demands are things people want. These demands are about changes to mental health care. Rudy plans to send this list to the government.

The painting also uses the phrase carceral care. Carceral care means forms of care that can feel like being in prison. For example, being made to stay in hospital when you don’t want to.

Rudy has made this work to try and improve how we care for people.

‘And Here We Found One Another’ by Rudy Loewe

This painting is about healing.

It shows one person helping another person.

It shows a healing ritual. A ritual is a set way of doing something important. A ritual often has strong meaning for the people taking part.

The painting is about healing using family traditions. Family traditions are ways of doing things that are passed down through families.

Artist Rudy Loewe wants us to think about how we can understand what is meaningful to other people.

You can find accessible guides at the start of the exhibition.

The guides are:

• a gallery guide with words and pictures

• a large-print guide

• a visual story

• a sensory map. A sensory map shows you where there are things like:

- out-loud sound

- objects to touch

- seating

There are 9 stops in the digital guides.

There is a number and a QR code next to each stop in the exhibition. You can scan the QR codes with your phone to get the digital guides.

To scan a QR code:

1)   open the camera on your phone

2)   point it at the QR code

3)   click on the link that appears.

If you do not know how to scan a QR code, we can help you.

There is a white line on the exhibition floor. Follow the white line to get to each stop.

The white line has a pattern that you can feel with your feet.

Or you can listen to the audio-described guide by:

1)   picking up a touch-button handset in the exhibition

2)   pressing the number of the audio stop.

You can get all the information that is on the exhibition labels and panels by scanning the QR code with your phone. The information can be read by a screen reader.

To scan a QR code:

1)   open the camera on your phone

2)   point it at the QR code

3)   click on the link for ‘Read captions and transcripts’.

If you do not know how to scan a QR code, we can help you.

If you need help with anything, you can ask a member of our gallery team.

If you need additional support to enjoy this exhibition, join us for a Relaxed Opening. At a Relaxed Opening there will be:

• fewer visitors
• extra gallery staff to help you.

At a relaxed opening you can use our:

• cushions
• ear defenders
• tinted glasses
• tinted visors
• weighted lap pads.

At a relaxed opening there will be a chill-out room. The chill-out room has:

• low lighting
• soft seats
• sensory and fidget toys.