Transformations through Radical Art Practice
Bhavani Esapathi
Summary
In this Computer Arts Society talk, Anna Dumitriu introduces fellow artist Bhavani Esapathi, who reflects on what makes art radical through a practice rooted in disability, chronic illness and digital technology. Esapathi begins by questioning the term “radical” and presents a series of works that make invisible medical conditions visible. In “Inconclusive Diagnosis,” a life-size torso covered in scars invites viewers to ask normally taboo questions about her body. A later project with the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and Wolverhampton School of Art examines stigma around inflammatory bowel disease and stomas in South Asian communities, using medical imagery and video to show what happens inside and outside the body. She also describes a collaboration with King’s College London neurobiologists studying psilocybin and neurons; rather than focus on the drug, she creates an audiovisual work about the care scientists give to cells and asks how that attention might transfer to patient consultations. Finally, she outlines an Oxfam project that uses digital storytelling with participants from Peru, the US, Colombia and elsewhere to build frameworks for understanding community needs. Throughout, Esapathi argues that art allows science and organisations to experiment with data, ask unconventional questions and create social change.
This AI summary was generated by kimi-k2.7-code (13th August 2026).