If you were invited to write a letter to your breath, what would you say? Bristol anthropologist Alice Malpass and letter-revivalist Elspeth Penny have been running workshops doing exactly that. Chatting to Sarah McLusky they explain what happens in … Read more…
The header shows Capacity by Annie Cattrell, part of the Royal West of England Academy exhibition ‘Air: Visualising the Invisible in British Art 1768-2017’. This post and ‘The uses and abuses of air (1)’ also appear in the publication accompanying the … Read more…
The header image shows a viola, also called heartsease. Music therapist and writer Kate Binnie writes: I am in the hospital. Cardiology ward. My mother sits on the edge of the hospital bed, her swollen and shiny legs look as if … Read more…
SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | RSS Discover the work our researchers are doing to try and understand what it is like to live with a lung condition. Sarah McLusky chats to Durham anthropologists Rebecca Oxley and Fredrik … Read more…
Life of Breath PhD student Tina Williams writes: The 2017 Research Without Borders Festival showcase exhibition ran at Bristol’s Colston Hall on May 12th. I, along with ninety-nine other research students, took part in this engaging research exhibition, with the aim … Read more…
The header shows Ascent of Lunardi’s Balloon from St George’s Fields, London, 1788-90 by J. C. Ibbetson, which will be part of the Royal West of England Academy exhibition ‘Air: Visualising the Invisible in British Art 1768-2017’, as does this … Read more…
Artist Caroline Wright writes: Earlier this year, a two-day project called Space to Breathe took place at Somerset House in London, a building that is located in one of the most highly polluted areas of the city. Commissioned by the … Read more…
Please note that audio files of all the talks given at this conference will be available shortly. Life of Breath PhD student Tina Williams writes: On the 16th and 17th March, The University of Bristol hosted a conference on phenomenology, anxiety … Read more…
Dr Megan Wainwright is an international collaborator on the Life of Breath project. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cape Town (Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health and Family Medicine), and an … Read more…
The header image shows ‘In the same breath’, a 2008 artwork by artist and glass-blower Kate Williams (borosilicate glass / 40 x 125 x 40 cm / courtesy of the artist / Photo © Yiannis Katsaris. See Kate Williams’s website … Read more…
Jane Macnaughton discusses why breathlessness is an invisible symptom, why the people who experience it can be invisible in society and how this is hampering the battle against lung disease.
Composer and academic Toby Young writes: ‘Our business in living is to become fluent with the life we are living and art helps’ (John Cage) Music and breath are inseparable. From a singer inhaling audibly before launching into an epic chorus, to … Read more…
Following on from part 1, Life of Breath PI Havi Carel writes: What is breathlessness? This is a seemingly simple question. Why, it’s the well-known experience of panting, perhaps getting hot and sweaty, maybe a heaving of the chest, or … Read more…
Throughout 2016 our collaborator Jayne Wilton created unique and beautiful breath-inspired artworks to grace the cover of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. She used a variety of techniques including copper etching, photosensitive paper and glass blowing to capture both exhaled … Read more…
The header image shows a representation of the three wise monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil. A parody of these monkeys (each with a different injury, bandaged or in a cast) can be found in … Read more…
The header photograph was taken by Paul Waine, and shows Bev Wears of the British Lung Foundation and Rebecca Oxley, post-doctoral researcher on the Life of Breath. Paul is a member of Breathe Easy Durham Dales, and has written a poem … Read more…
Tina Williams, PhD student on the Life of Breath project, writes a post prompted by the inaugural lecture of Prof. Jerry Nolan (audio recording now available), Honorary Professor of Resuscitation Medicine in the School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol: Loss. … Read more…
This is the fourth and final blog post in a series of responses to the British Lung Foundation‘s Battle for Breath report. Join us on Twitter to discuss the issues, Thursday 24 November 2016, 12:00GMT #breathreport. Ian Jarrold, the British Lung Foundation’s Head of Research, … Read more…
This is the first of a series of responses to the British Lung Foundation‘s Battle for Breath report. Join us on Twitter to discuss the issues, Thursday 24 November 2016, 12:00GMT #breathreport. Our principal investigator Prof Jane Macnaughton writes: Lung disease kills one … Read more…
Inspired is a competition for students studying Music at the University of Bristol, to compose a breathing-related piece for the acclaimed trombone quartet Bones Apart. The winner will be chosen by composer, conductor and Professor of Composition John Pickard, and Teaching … Read more…
Life of Breath PI Havi Carel writes: The experience of illness is a universal and substantial part of human existence. Like death, illness raises important philosophical issues. But unlike death, illness, and in particular the experience of being ill, has … Read more…
David Scoins (lifelong runner, sometime sports teacher) spent seven years in China; a year or more in each of Xi’an, Nanjing, Beijing and Guangzhou, and shorter periods in other cities. The smallest of these cities has a population far bigger than … Read more…
Here, Durham researcher Arthur Rose explores breath as a theme, metaphor and plot device in Science Fiction. Whether used to convey a sense of anticipation, otherness, or even signify life itself, breath is a common motif in artistic media. Drawing on Fahrenheit 451, Star … Read more…
This post is the first of a series on vaping and vape tricks by Rebecca Oxley, post-doctoral researcher in anthropology on the Life of Breath project. Rebecca is currently looking for people to share their stories about living with breathlessness. E-cigarettes can make the breath … Read more…