Bright Sparks

Artist John Cockram explores how we can apply human skills and qualities such as ‘protection’, ‘well-being’ and ‘healing’ to the natural world. How do the qualities of ‘care and concern’ change when taken out of a healthcare context and are applied to the environment? As a lecturer on the Arts in Health programme at the University of East London, and as an artist whose practice has centered around socially engaged practice, John’s Bright Sparks project seeks to develop new methods of exploration and collaboration between the healthcare and environment professions.

During his research to date, John has brought together a range of professionals from these two seemingly separate sectors including the Director of Nursing Research, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kings College, London; Deputy Keeper Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Director of Education, Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College and Clinical Research Director, Clinical Psychology Programme, Canterbury Christ Church University. Through discussions and workshops, John is working with these specialists to instigate new thinking into healthcare and environmental discourse. John’s project is considerably more abstract than the other Bright Sparks projects, and has used techniques of performance art, dialogue, sculpture and photography to guide his research process.

“I keep coming back to the idea of scars as a metaphor for discovery and change; as damage is made there needs to be an active ingredient which instigates repair, but which also leaves behind a mark of history. I hope my research will be active in instigating new thoughts that will inform healthcare policy and environmental debate, which by nature need to constantly renew themselves, and I am increasingly finding that it is the relationships I am building that are helping me to do this.”

John Cockram has a PhD in Fine Art pedagogy, which explored student residency practices within the community, and contributes to his work on the Fine Art Student Residency Programme at University of East London, as well as his work with Loraine Leeson at cSPACE which uses the visual arts, and new media to support local communities, children and young people in the expression of their visions, dreams and aspirations around issues of regeneration. John’s training as both nurse and painter also significantly influences his artist led research process and his published writing.