I have two sides to my “career”, and over the past few years I’ve been making some attempt to bring them together. I was “good at art” in school but, being somewhat idealistic, decided that art “didn’t do much good” for human kind ( i realise now that i was wrong about that) and so went to university to study medicine, thinking that a more “noble” path . To cut a long story short, I continued to make art and started to exhibit my work, then went back to college to do a PG cert in fine art, whilst keeping up my day job as a doctor. There are, of course, lots of noble and good things about practicing medicine, but I have come to realise that doctors and nurses and other healthcare professionals are kidding themselves if they think that everything they do is worthy, and we are quite capable of doing harm as well as good. Self examination and self conciousness are good things, and can sometimes be a bit scarce in the higher circles of medicine. Anyway, i started thinking about doing an MA in fine art, but discovered, via a clever south Wales GP called Wayne Lewis, the discipline of Medical Humanities. I thought this might be a good way of pulling together my art and medicine. It was, and through it I started looking further into another interest of mine: graphic novels and comic art.
A confession:
or a disclaimer, or whatever: I am not what might be termed a “hardcore” comics fan, in that i don’t collect comic pamphlets, and I am not very interested in mainstream superheroes or sci-fi. Not that these genre based comics have no value. I just prefer what Douglas Wolk calls “art comics”. For that reason, my ignorance on certain matters might be evident to such fans, who are free to correct me or hurl abuse at me. I am no expert, but I have set up this site in the hope that experts may contibute to the discussion.
The other side to my career comprises my work as a painter and printmaker. Four days a week I make art, three days a week I work as a GP in North Wales which earns me a decent living. I fit the building of websites and playing the guitar into the remaining time.
You can see my work at ian-williams.co.uk
You can email me at: ian (at) ian (hyphen) williams (dot) co (dot) uk
If you would like me to come and talk at any event, teach healthcare students or whatever, please don’t hesitate to email me.
Studied Medicine in Cardiff 1984-89 MB BCh 1989
Royal College of General Practitioners MRCGP 1995
Royal College of Anaesthetists DA 1997
Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Studies- Fine Art Chester 2000
Swansea University MA in Medical Humanities 2009 Distinction in dissertation, Merit overall
Principal in General Practice 1998-2010 Corwen, North Wales, UK
Trainer in General Practice 2003-2010.
Highly commended YOUNG WALES V R.C.A. Conwy. Feb/Mar 2001
Elected member of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art 2004
FOCAL Steering committee member and curator/ exhibition organiser;
Festival of Contemporary Art and Light Ruthin, North Wales 2004, 2005
Served on Council of Royal Cambrian Academy of Art 2006-2009
Awarded a Project Grant by the Arts Council of Wales 2010
Lead Organiser, Comics and Medicine conference, London 2010
Steering Group Committee, Comics and Medicine conference Chicago 2010
Publications
Fear of Failure Volume I 42 pp 2010 Graphic Medicine
Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham (book review) Studies in Comics Vol 1 Issue 2 Nov 2010
Medical Classics: Our Cancer Year (book review) British Medical Journal
Blue Pills by Frederick Peeters (book review) BMJ Medical Humanities 2009
Papers Presented
Super-Crips and Comic Cuts ’Theory and Practice’ ,Thought Bubble Leeds November 2010
Autography as Autotherapy ‘Madness and Literature’ University of Nottingham August 2010
Graphic Medicine Association for Medical Humanities Annual Conference Truro July 2010
Psychological Suffering and the Graphic Pathography ‘Comics: Cultures and Genres’ Manchester Metropolitan University April 2010
Graphic Medicine as a resource for Health Professionals ‘Possibilities and Perspectives’, Thought Bubble Leeds November 2009
Graphic Fiction as Medical Narrative: Comics as a resource for Health Professionals? National Conference for Physician-Scholars in the Social Sciences and Humanities Philadelphia Pennsylvania March 2009
Other Presentations
The Art of Psychiatry (interview with Darryl Cunningham and Philippa Perry) London November 2010
Laydeez Do Comics, London Sept 2010
Opening Address and Welcome- Comics and Medicine Institute of English Studies, London, June 2010
Narrative Medicine and Comics Denbigh Medical Society April 2010
Narrative Medicine and Comics Wrexham GP Trainers Workshop 2009
Royal Cambrian Academy 2009
Workshops/ Teaching experience
Medical Humanities Student Selected Component Liverpool Medical Institution November 2010+ February 2011/ ongoing
Life Drawing Session (for doctors) General Practice vocational training afternoon Glan Clwyd Scheme- Ruthin Craft Centre 2010
Life Drawing Session (for doctors) General Practice Deanery (VTS course organisers) Cardiff 2010
Narrative Medicine and Graphic Medicine. General Practice vocational training afternoon Glan Clwyd Scheme- May 2010
Life Drawing Session (for doctors) General Practice vocational training afternoon- Wrexham Scheme Ruthin Craft Centre 2010
Life Drawing Session (for doctors) General Practice vocational training afternoon- RCA Conwy 2008
Medical Humanities General Practice vocational training afternoon- Wrexham 2008
Painting Workshop for Children Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy June 2008
Printmaking Masterclass Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy June 2008
Painting Masterclass Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy Dec 2007
Crime, Punishment and Confinement Painting and Printmaking workshops at Ruthin Gaol February 2007
Conwy Arts festival Printmaking workshop RCA Conwy August 2006
Helfa Gelf Printmaking workshop RCA Conwy June 2006
Other positions held
Peer reviewer- Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics Francis and Taylor 2010
Peer reviewer- British Medical Journal 2010
Team Member- Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Association 1993-1997
Medical Officer- North Wales Mountain Rescue Association 1995-1997
Expedition doctor and climber- Mount McKinley (Denali) Alaska 1996
Expedition doctor and climber- Rignysbjerg Mountains Greenland 1999
Illustration Commissions (including Comics work as ‘Thom Ferrier’)
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL illustration for Christmas edition 2010
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Splash page and illustrations for a Palliative Care supplement 2010
WELLCOME TRUST NEWS Cartoon strip for Feature on Comics and Medicine 2010
ROYAL COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGISTS illustration for lecture 2009
WELSH BOOKS COUNCIL cover illustration for collection of poetry “Cerddi Clwyd” 2004
WELSH BOOKS COUNCIL cover illustration for collection of poetry“Cerddi Clwyd” 2004
ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS 2003
[...] Ian Williams [...]