ABSTRACT

This installation Reframing VII, is a collaborative artwork developed with people living with acquired brain injury (ABI) from the charity Brain Injury Matters, inspired by objects encountered in The Art of the Possible exhibition at the Ulster Museum. Situated within a practice-based creative health framework, the work emerged through a series of facilitated workshops engaging participants in material exploration, dialogue and co-design. Drawing on the tactile and symbolic qualities of origami, participants collectively produced a large-scale installation composed of brightly coloured paper “brains.” Each folded form functions as both an individual expression and part of a wider visual ecology, reflecting the multiplicity of lived experiences following brain injury. The repetitive, yet variable, act of folding enabled participants to engage in a process that was at once structured and open-ended, supporting focus, motor coordination and creative agency.  Other iterations of Reframing have been exhibited at cultural and academic venues locally, nationally and internationally.

Reframing VII visually articulates the ongoing process of adjustment after ABI, foregrounding themes of disruption, adaptation, and renewal. Arranged in flowing, interconnected formations, the origami elements evoke cyclical and non-linear recovery journeys, challenging dominant narratives of fixed rehabilitation outcomes. The work positions creativity as a means of re-authoring identity, allowing participants to move beyond clinical framings of deficit towards expressions of resilience and possibility. Importantly, the installation embodies principles of co-production and shared authorship. No single component is privileged; rather, meaning emerges through collective contribution and relational making. In this way, Reframing VII operates not only as an artwork but also as a social space, fostering connection, recognition and mutual support. By translating museum-inspired engagement into a collaborative artistic outcome, this project highlights the potential of craft-based practices within cultural institutions to support wellbeing, identity reconstruction, and inclusive participation for people living with ABI.

INTERSECTIONS was curated by Dr Jane Morrow for the Doctoral College in Ulster University on Coleraine campus alongside the work of 6 other practice based researchers for the 2026 Festival of Research. This section contains images of the final installation during the PhD Festival plus a video of the installation.

Photography credit | David Copeland