Embodied Books
Binding Together Illness, Art, and Learning
A collection of handmade artists’ books that tell the stories of illness and medicine
-
Each book in this collection was created during an “Embodied Books” five-week long workshop. Participation was open to anyone who identified as having an illness, disability, caretaking role, or other memorable encounter with medicine. There have been 36 participants to date.
-
Participants were provided the materials and guiding prompts to create their books with the facilitation of artist and health humanities researcher, Dr. Darian Goldin Stahl. Each book was editioned to two, and participants could choose to donate one of their books to the Embodied Books collection
-
Books are a mobile medium that are best experienced firsthand. Therefore, this collection is a “mobile library” that aims to engage with audiences in real-world educational and professionalizing contexts.
-
What can we learn about medical experiences through the sensing body? Images, textures, sounds, scents, and gestures speak volumes when words fail us. Archived as artists’ books, these works hold complex stories of medicine in a shareable and poetic form. This collection is meant to be shared with healthcare workers in order to approach some of the most vital concerns of patients in a novel way.