The Wellcome Collection, located within London can be described as a free museum for those with a penchant for odd items. The Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Collection, founded by Henry Solomon Wellcome. Sir Henry Wellcome was a traveller and collector of rare and unique oddities. His affinity for oddities lives on in the Wellcome Collection. The museum itself houses a mixture of medical artifacts and new age art. All art exhibits tie into the connections between medicine and art.
At the Wellcome Collection, I had the amazing chance to view a large gathering of Sir Henry's own personal collection, titled Medicine Man. The collection was vast and contained items from multiple cultures. Each item was tied to the medical field in its own odd way. The collection contained a large amount of paintings, medical devices such as birthing and dentist chairs, jars, and personal items of Wellcome. Majority of the exhibit was a collection of items that covered the multiple stages of life. As someone who enjoys things of the macabre nature, I was immediately drawn to the items concerning death. Among these were a shrunken head, guillotine blade, memento mori, and other items related to death. There was even a mummy within the collection!
Aside from that collection, there was also exhibits titled States of Mind and THIS IS A VOICE. These two exhibits were both very unique! The first looked into exactly what being conscious was through a large set of art pieces. THIS IS A VOICE looked at what exactly a voice is and how it define us in the numerous aspects of life.
Of the two I enjoyed THIS IS A VOICE more. It was set back in a closed off room with very low lighting and no photography allowed. Each part of the exhibit was interesting. One major part was a movie showing through a cylinder. To watch it, you had to look through a hole. There was also another movie playing concerning a sleep walker. Leaving the exhibit I played with an interactive screen that taught me about synesthesia. After learning about it, I was allowed to play a game of sorts that psychologists use to cause people to have synesthesia. Playing it, I personally began to associate certain colors with the letters they had been assigned to.
This place was amazing! I enjoyed all three exhibits, but mostly Medicine Man. One thing I couldn't help but notice was the various places that items from the exhibits came from. I had been to many of those places!
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