Matt Durran Lecture
Matt came in the other day to talk to students and staff about his glass practice including his significant work with the NHS
Debbie Horscroft level 1 Crafts attended the lecture and had this to say
Matt Durran (artist, curator and glass innovator), developed his ideas of making glass moulds for medical science. The NHS approached him to make prosthetic noses, so he uses his own nose for the initial experiments, as the original noses were too “clown” like! He passed these samples around the audience which were intriguing as I sniffed them and touched them with my finger as the person next to me did before passing the tray to me. They were meant to be life like, and they were made for patients who lost their own limbs and body parts through cancer. This made it even more fascinating!
Durran uses a 3d computer image which is scanned in to make the mould. It is grafted onto the clients arm for a year so cells and blood vessel attach prior to transplanting to the patients face.
Durran uses glass as it is sterile, inert and transparent which is an ideal material to use for medical science as it makes it easier for doctors to check for cell growth.
I was fascinated with this lecture, but at the same time it made me feel squeamish at times especially when he showed slides of real operations!
Debbie Horscroft
you can see Matt talking on this Power of Making Video from the V&A
