Presenting SURGE II; a collaborative project between University of the Arts London’s (UAL) Post-Grad Community, University College London (UCL), Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS), and the public/patient groups that participated.

SURGE II invited UAL postgraduate artists and WEISS researchers, to consider the role of data in public health, and better understand the shifting perceptions of surgical technologies.

These collaborative explorations interrogate the complexities and application of technology in surgery, covering ethical themes of agency, informed consent, and inclusive communications, as well as the societal implications around inequitable access and improvements in emotional support.

Each interdisciplinary partnership has integrated patient groups into their workshop’s design and delivery to create a 3-way dialogue. The groups include patients with heart disease, carers for and patients with Parkinson’s disease, and LGBTQ+ couples engaging with assisted reproduction technologies.

Over the course of SURGE II, each artist has collaboratively produced creative works to communicate workshop findings, piecing together the artistic, scientific, public and patient perspectives, and shared learning, through art and design.