Portrait of Ellen 1, by Siân Davey, 2020. Ellen wears a white top, grey pencil skirt and black heels. She stands against a green background with her hands clasped in front. This is one of two portraits of Ellen Copson, an oncologist who researches genetic causes of breast cancer.

One of a set of 33 prints commissioned for Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries from significant British photographer Siân Davey. Within one set of 12 for ‘Medicine and Treatments’, Davey photographed and supervised a series of UK individuals working with the museum, each chosen to ask a question about medical treatment. Ellen was chosen for her research on the genetic causes of breast cancer and what impact that might have on cancer treatments. Versions of the portraits have been specially created for the 25-year life span of the Medicine galleries, as life-size physical portraits. These archival portrait prints of each work have been produced specially for the museum art collection by Davey.

Both sets of prints show the varied personalities of sitters. Each person is represented by two different portraits, with a variety of poses and expressions, some with props, and against background colours carefully chosen to work with the wider gallery palette. Some sitters chose to be photographed with family members, whose voices also appear in the oral histories. Some sitters appear with assistive technologies but are not defined by them. Davey’s portraits question what is a healthy or a ‘normal’ body, highlight how medicine shapes, impacts and intersects with the lives of individuals and perceptions of normality, and provoke reflection about the existing collections.