The artwork and exhibition programme is a response to groundbreaking research being undertaken by University of Brighton, University of Birmingham and University of Lincolnshire that looks at the experiences of older people receiving care which they pay for themselves. Early research findings indicate that care provision can feel precarious for many of those who receive it and that a sense of powerlessness, bewilderment and difficulty in dealing with uncertainty is common. Also, society’s view of old age shapes the manner in which care is given, received and paid for and ultimately the value placed on care relationships.

About OPCARE

From February 2019 - June 2020, The OPCARE Commissioning Partnership, comprising University of Brighton (as Lead Research Team and representative of University of Lincoln and University of Birmingham research teams); Fabrica and Ikon galleries and Threshold Studios (producers of Frequency Festival, Lincoln) are commissioning British artist, Lindsay Seers to produce The OPCARE Commissioned Artwork, a new work for exhibition at Fabrica in October 2019 and sites in Solihull/Birmingham and Lincoln/Lincolnshire.

Funded by Wellcome Trust (Research Enrichment), the OPCARE Commission is concerned with representing the meaning and value of care in human relationships. It provides the opportunity for an artist to work directly with the Research Teams to expand the public conversation about care and open up a space to explore the universal human dilemmas that we may all face but not want to think about until they happen.

Public debate on care is typically limited by policy concerns about the economic costs of an ageing population and the anticipated impact on health and social care resources. It is also underpinned by an intrinsic fear and distancing from ageing inherent in our contemporary culture and the idea that independence and autonomy are to be valued above all else. This is often internalised by people as they age - that needing help essentially lowers our value as human beings and the ultimate goal should be that we remain totally independent of others when this is no longer realistic, possible or desirable.

olderpeopleselffundingcare.com

Lindsay Seers is best known for the hundreds of images she has produced using her own body as a camera and her video installations. These explore complex ideas and situations through elliptical narratives that are shaped by an evolving set of connections and coincidences that the act of making the work evokes.

Music: 'Uranus' from the album Cold Outer Worlds by Julian Broadhurst, Composer in Collaboration. Please visit his 'British Music Collection' page.

britishmusiccollection.org.uk/node/63456.