Living Medical Traditions, Science Museum, London
Living Medical Traditions, which focuses on non-western medical traditions, forms the third part of the medical history galleries at the Science Museum, the other two galleries being Before Modern Medicine and Modern Medicine (post-1800).
Rather than trying to cover all non-western medical traditions the exhibition focuses on four, all of which are ancient, but from different parts of the globe: traditional Chinese medicine, dating back almost 3,000 years; Ayurveda, which originated in the Indian sub-continent more than 2,000 years ago; Unani Tibb, developed in the Arab world around 750-1,000 BCE, and based on ancient Greek principles; and African medical traditions, with their focus on healers and diviners. By contrast, modern western medicine, here called biomedicine, dates back a mere couple of centuries.
Most of the objects on display come from the Wellcome Trust's extensive medical history collections, transferred to South Kensington in the 1970s. But unlike the Wellcome's western medical artefacts, the non-western material was collected more for its curiosity value than for its historical significance.
So as part of the research for this exhibition the Science Museum has undertaken some contemporary collecting, particularly of artefacts that show how these non-western medical traditions have been adopted and adapted by the western world.
Non-western medical practitioners have been asking the now-fashionable question 'why are you ill?' as well as 'what is wrong?' and espousing a holistic approach, where the whole person is treated, rather than just their symptoms, for centuries. The four traditions have some similarities in their basic tenets.
Illness is often seen as the result of an imbalance of elements in the body: in Chinese medicine, the yin and yang; in Ayurveda, the three doshas; in Unani Tibb, the four humours. But the methods for restoring balance vary, and some are more attractive than others. The dance and drumming offered in African traditions sound preferable to the leeches and acupuncture prescribed by Chinese medicine.
Two thoughts came to mind as I went round this exhibition. The first was: 'Who is this exhibition for?' The Science Museum press release describes it as being for 'the Science Museum's core family audience', but barring a small introduction area that poses some rather basic questions, the exhibition is not pitched at a level that would engage children.
On a general level, beyond a certain 'yuck' factor roused by, for instance, enema syringes and vomit pans, it is hard to interest children in medicine. The Science Museum does run innovative hands-on workshops for children using medical material but there appears to be little connection between those and this rather old-fashioned, object-led exhibition, aimed, not at a family audience, but at knowledgeable adults.
Clearly, a great deal of medical and anthropological research has gone on behind the scenes. Disappointingly, the resulting displays are worthy but dull. The Gulbenkian-nominated Hunterian Museum in London has shown that medical history can be engaging. But to achieve this requires significant investment, and one gets the impression, judging by this exhibition, that funding in the Science Museum reduces on a floor-by-floor basis.
Situated on the fifth floor, this has all the hallmarks of a low budget, with some fairly fundamental flaws: the track lighting casts shadows that make it hard to read the labels or see the objects; the photographs are small and poorly positioned; and the background to the graphics is a bilious green, reminiscent of the older NHS hospitals.
My second thought was: 'Is there a better way to tell the story?' The answer has to be 'yes'. Though there are some exquisite objects on display, such as the wooden crocodile-shaped itombwa or divination board from the Congo, and the Japanese ivory figure showing acupuncture points, much of non-western medicine is founded on beliefs and intangible traditions that are hard to put across in a static gallery.
The Science Museum's website hosts some excellent online exhibitions, and I couldn't help thinking that this one would have been infinitely more engaging online, and would have allowed more focus on the patient than on the objects.
There are case studies of patients in this exhibition, but the text is so carefully worded, possibly to avoid the suggestion that the Science Museum is recommending a particular course of treatment, that it comes across like a medical textbook. The exception is that of the patient at the Kunde Hospital, a 15-bed hospital founded by Edmund Hillary in the 1960s in the Himalayas.
It provides primary care for about 10,000 people, some of whom have to travel for three days to reach it. The patient in the case study adopted a wonderfully pragmatic 'belt and braces' approach to ensuring her recovery. She attended a course of treatment at the hospital, but at the same time ensured that prayers were said for the well-being of the whole community at a local festival.
Jane Weeks is a museum consultant
Project data
Cost: £35,000
3D Design: Andy Feast
2D Design: Science Museum
Graphics: BAF Graphics
Build: Science Museum Workshops/TMP
Curators: Alice Nicholls, Laila Zwisler, Stewart Emmens, Lisa O'Sullivan
Project management: Science Museum
Living Medical Traditions, which focuses on non-western medical traditions, forms the third part of the medical history galleries at the Science Museum, the other two galleries being Before Modern Medicine and Modern Medicine (post-1800).
Rather than trying to cover all non-western medical traditions the exhibition focuses on four, all of which are ancient, but from different parts of the globe: traditional Chinese medicine, dating back almost 3,000 years; Ayurveda, which originated in the Indian sub-continent more than 2,000 years ago; Unani Tibb, developed in the Arab world around 750-1,000 BCE, and based on ancient Greek principles; and African medical traditions, with their focus on healers and diviners. By contrast, modern western medicine, here called biomedicine, dates back a mere couple of centuries.
Most of the objects on display come from the Wellcome Trust's extensive medical history collections, transferred to South Kensington in the 1970s. But unlike the Wellcome's western medical artefacts, the non-western material was collected more for its curiosity value than for its historical significance.
So as part of the research for this exhibition the Science Museum has undertaken some contemporary collecting, particularly of artefacts that show how these non-western medical traditions have been adopted and adapted by the western world.
Non-western medical practitioners have been asking the now-fashionable question 'why are you ill?' as well as 'what is wrong?' and espousing a holistic approach, where the whole person is treated, rather than just their symptoms, for centuries. The four traditions have some similarities in their basic tenets.
Illness is often seen as the result of an imbalance of elements in the body: in Chinese medicine, the yin and yang; in Ayurveda, the three doshas; in Unani Tibb, the four humours. But the methods for restoring balance vary, and some are more attractive than others. The dance and drumming offered in African traditions sound preferable to the leeches and acupuncture prescribed by Chinese medicine.
Two thoughts came to mind as I went round this exhibition. The first was: 'Who is this exhibition for?' The Science Museum press release describes it as being for 'the Science Museum's core family audience', but barring a small introduction area that poses some rather basic questions, the exhibition is not pitched at a level that would engage children.
On a general level, beyond a certain 'yuck' factor roused by, for instance, enema syringes and vomit pans, it is hard to interest children in medicine. The Science Museum does run innovative hands-on workshops for children using medical material but there appears to be little connection between those and this rather old-fashioned, object-led exhibition, aimed, not at a family audience, but at knowledgeable adults.
Clearly, a great deal of medical and anthropological research has gone on behind the scenes. Disappointingly, the resulting displays are worthy but dull. The Gulbenkian-nominated Hunterian Museum in London has shown that medical history can be engaging. But to achieve this requires significant investment, and one gets the impression, judging by this exhibition, that funding in the Science Museum reduces on a floor-by-floor basis.
Situated on the fifth floor, this has all the hallmarks of a low budget, with some fairly fundamental flaws: the track lighting casts shadows that make it hard to read the labels or see the objects; the photographs are small and poorly positioned; and the background to the graphics is a bilious green, reminiscent of the older NHS hospitals.
My second thought was: 'Is there a better way to tell the story?' The answer has to be 'yes'. Though there are some exquisite objects on display, such as the wooden crocodile-shaped itombwa or divination board from the Congo, and the Japanese ivory figure showing acupuncture points, much of non-western medicine is founded on beliefs and intangible traditions that are hard to put across in a static gallery.
The Science Museum's website hosts some excellent online exhibitions, and I couldn't help thinking that this one would have been infinitely more engaging online, and would have allowed more focus on the patient than on the objects.
There are case studies of patients in this exhibition, but the text is so carefully worded, possibly to avoid the suggestion that the Science Museum is recommending a particular course of treatment, that it comes across like a medical textbook. The exception is that of the patient at the Kunde Hospital, a 15-bed hospital founded by Edmund Hillary in the 1960s in the Himalayas.
It provides primary care for about 10,000 people, some of whom have to travel for three days to reach it. The patient in the case study adopted a wonderfully pragmatic 'belt and braces' approach to ensuring her recovery. She attended a course of treatment at the hospital, but at the same time ensured that prayers were said for the well-being of the whole community at a local festival.
Jane Weeks is a museum consultant
Project data
Cost: £35,000
3D Design: Andy Feast
2D Design: Science Museum
Graphics: BAF Graphics
Build: Science Museum Workshops/TMP
Curators: Alice Nicholls, Laila Zwisler, Stewart Emmens, Lisa O'Sullivan
Project management: Science Museum
