A green mannequin holding its right hand up to the front of its face.

LivingBodiesObjects is a project that asks how health research is undertaken: what are the assumptions that govern how the work proceeds? Who decides how to start, and where and when? Why are certain ideas privileged and who gains from this?

On a black wall is a 9 x 4 grid of black tiles with white spiral engravings on them. In front of this is an open wooden box, housing a small stylus, hand print, and space to fix sample tile for engraving.

Touching Sleep

Touching Sleep
Feature image: Sleep Engraver Exhibition, credit Benedict Phillips Touching Sleep is an exploration of technology, art and cultural theory, focused on sleep, which emerged from early conversations during the first months of LivingBodiesObjects. It was inspired by discussions of how the body can be understood as a living object and how it might be recorded … Read more
A 1970s SciFi Iron Lung featuring a mustard-coloured plush chair inside a glass dome

What are we doing? | April 2024

Project Update
Feature image: A 1970s SciFi Iron Lung (Image created by MidJourney) The fourth and final residency period of the LBO project began in January 2024. We’ve been working closely with the Thackray Museum of Medicine, based in Leeds, developing ideas for a six-month exhibition which is going to launch in July 2024. The initial phase … Read more
Three people appear in the photograph standing in a theatre with black back drop. A female actor stands on the left dressed in black and wearing a silver wig. A male wearing glasses, a checked shirt and brown cardigan stands in the centre. A female actor wearing glasses, a bright pink cardigan and pink hoop earrings stands at the right. She wears a name tag labelled Yaxin.

Kara: An Artificial Friend staged as part of Being Human: A “Festival of the Humanities” | November 2023

Event
On 9-10 November, the LBO team brought the theatrical piece Kara: An Artificial Friend to Being Human – “the UK’s national festival of the humanities.”
The logo for the Research Culture Uncovered podcast series

What are we doing? | Oct 2023

Project Update
Clare Barker and Amelia DeFalco recently recorded a podcast with Emma Spary, Head of Researcher Development and Culture, as part of the University of Leeds’ Research Culture Uncovered series. The episode is entitled ‘Rethinking Research Spaces: Developing a Medical Humanities Lab and Redefining Research Practices‘. The project introduces us to a non-hierarchical leadership model and … Read more
A room where 3 men are using VR headsets whilst other people assist or look on from seats

Podcast with Stuart Murray and David Tabron | July 2023

Podcast
In this episode, Brandy speaks to Stuart Murray and David Tabron. David works for Blueberry Academy, a business that operates in special educational needs. “We’re a training provider, a post-16 training provider. And we also operate in health and social care,” David explains. Blueberry Academy was set up in 2007 and is localized to York … Read more
Decorative image of Jungle Landscape, by Alex McKenna

What are we doing? | August 2023

Project Update
Feature image: Jungle Landscape, by Alex McKenna – made using Tilt Brush. In July, LBO finished its second residency, working with Blueberry Academy in York on a project that introduced immersive technologies to two groups of the Academy’s trainees. Blueberry provides training that supports young people to develop education and independence skills and at the … Read more
seven A3 prints of AI generated abstract artwork are displayed in a dimly lit workshop as part of an exhibition.

Posthumanism and the LivingBodiesObject Project | July 2022

Podcast
Podcast with Stuart Murray and Amelia DeFalco in conversation with EIC Brandy Schillace. To listen to the podcast in full please visit blogs.BMJ.com where you can also find a full transcript.
BMJ talk medicine podcast logo

BMJ Medical Humanities: LivingBodiesObjects with Stuart Murray | Mar 2022

Podcast
Podcast with Brandy Schillace and Stuart Murray. To listen to the podcast in full please visit blogs.BMJ.com where you can also find a full transcript.
A dancer dressed entirely in black is sat on the floor in the middle of an exhibition being held in a dimly lit workshop. The dancer is wearing headphones and is sat on a giant abstract artwork of a human body that has been painted onto the flooring.

Living Bodies Objects Launch | May 2022

Event
On 16 May, 80 people gathered on campus at the University of Leeds for the launch of LivingBodiesObjects. The project was introduced in a series of speeches, followed by a dance performance. The guests were then invited to experience a series of artworks, including interactive displays, installed around the venue.  Immersive documentation was used to … Read more
Two people are sitting on classroom chairs facing each other. An actor in a costume of a black boiler suit, a blonde wig and heavy make up is sitting opposite a young white male dressed in a hoodie and jeans.

What are we doing? | Feb 2023

Project Update
With our first residential partner, Interplay Theatre, the UK’s National Sensory Theatre, LBO has developed a performance that explores the relationships between bodies, technologies and audiences. This interactive, improvisational theatre piece engages with ideas about robots and the human body inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun. It imagines how technology might enable … Read more