Mark Ware is an artist whose work and life can be split into two distinct periods.  Until the age of 39, Mark had a successful career as a multimedia fine artist, commercial videographer, and professional photographer, then 25 years ago, he had a stroke. Stroke signaled the beginning of Mark’s second life, which has seen him use art to explore the altered subjective experiences caused by his brain injury, leading to collaborations with the CEDA disability charity in Exeter, which is shedding light on how disability can alter the perception of self.

 

Mark says, “Although I didn’t welcome my stroke, in many ways I’m incredibly grateful it happened. It has shown me profound insights into life, and the way we navigate and negotiate the world around us. I now view my past life (before my stroke) as a period when I became what fiction writers might call an unreliable witness and narrator of my own life. In retrospect, I feel that I was simply looking in the wrong direction.

“One of my greatest realisations during my 2nd life concerns a subject that affects us all – how the natural environment can be of enormous benefit to our health and wellbeing.  This has led to ongoing art/science collaborations with scientists that began in 2014.

“Currently, there is an increasing awareness of how the natural environment can be of benefit to our wellbeing and health. This awareness is influencing not only our lifestyles but even the way we think about the design of the built environment that most of us engage with on a daily basis.

“As a professional artist with over 40 years experience, I’m convinced that an understanding of art and ‘art language’ can play an important role in research into how nature affects us. Influenced by my experience of stroke and disability, and through my collaborations with scientists, I’m seeking to find new ways of taking nature to people who:

• find access to nature difficult due to a wide range of physical or cognitive barriers or socio-economic reasons

• work in environments that lack natural stimuli

• experience long-term stays in sensory-deprived environments, such as hospitals, care homes, prisons, and even space

 

“I was once asked what I feel is the most important lesson my stroke has taught me. In reply, I explained that the discrimination I’ve experienced since being disabled has made me understand the importance of familiarity. From the moment we’re born, we strive to become familiar with, and understand, people and the world around us. The more information we gather, the better informed we are, and the happier we are.

 

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