Siobhan Hebron

PRESS RELEASE

Side Effects May Include Art                The Situation Room                        June 14th - June 20th, 2015

Illness is built into the fabric of our lives by design. It is historical, recent and ever-present. Illness is one of life’s more indiscriminate agencies, affecting the young, old, rich, poor, famous and anonymous alike. However, unless personally afflicted, illness as a greater way of life is a life unacknowledged by many. It is an experience totally isolated as well as shared, riddled with victim blaming and victimization, a scientific yet entirely spiritual endeavor, and a battle fought by an individual as well as an army. It is not until it truly hits home that our eyes are opened to the realities of the sick, the diseased, and the terminally ill. It understandably brings out personal fears and harsh realities we would rather avoid.  

Artists of all fields have confronted illness through art. By shining a light into a dark place of human existence, they open the door to a portal of formidable creative potential. This exhibition showcases the work of Patient Experience, a collective of artists each coping with their own illness. These artists have elected to channel their personal misfortune into a creative outlet. Patient Experience’s inaugural show, Side Effects May Include Art, is a small survey of work by these artists, individually and independently produced.

Patient Experience members Siobhan Hebron, Lauren Potts, and Sydney Snyder performed in the 2015 edition of Perform Chinatown, entitled Rush Hour and curated by Molly Shea. The piece lasted for 15 minutes in which the performers cut away at DIY shirts bearing negative responses that they had received as people with illness. 

On February 22nd, 2016, Patient Experience members spoke to medical students at USC's Keck School of Medicine.