The Alternative Story of Mind and Body

1 in 10 adults will suffer a disabling Anxiety disorder during their lifetime. At present 40% of disability worldwide is due to depression and anxiety. Anxiety sufferers will typically interpret ambiguous situations in a negative way. Whether we interpret situations in our everyday life wearing rose-tinted glasses (positively) or negatively, can greatly impact our emotions and mental health. Cognitive Bias Modification is an exciting new alternative treatment for reducing anxiety. This technique trains our brains to interpret ambiguous situations positively.

In this talk, Matt will discuss his current exhibition "Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed". Spanning 400 years from the 17th century to the present day, the exhibition includes 400 objects including photographs; drawings; paintings; prints; commissioned sculpture; tattoo tools; and several pieces of preserved human skin. As the most intimate of all art forms, the talk argues that the history of tattooing becomes a proxy through which broader art and cultural histories of Britain can be read, with insights into class, gender, empire, anxiety, nationalism, politics, religion and more.