Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Just bowing rather than shaking hands (March 20th 2012)

Ian McCurdie the UK medical practitioner specializing in Sport & Exercise Medicine, and the Director of Medical Services for the British Olympic Association and Chief Medical Officer for the British Olympic Team, has urged athletes of the British Olympic team to consider not shaking hands with other sports people, dignitaries and officials at the London Olympic Games. McCurdie claims the potential illness and possible injury from picking up germs are a serious threat to an athlete’s performance and suggests the alternative “maybe adopting the Japanese way and just bowing rather than shaking hands”. A spokeswoman for the team attempting to play down the controversy stated “It’s just basic, common sense. We are simply reminding athletes to take commonsense measures, such as washing their hands and using hand foam, to reduce the risk of catching a bug. …It’s the same type of advice many employers give to their employees. … As an official policy, we are not advising our athletes to avoid shaking hands with people.”

Inspired by Rachael Brown http://ow.ly/9ARvD image source St Anthonys Hospital http://ow.ly/9ARfX

Insights with sense of humor & lifegiving lightness (February 16th)

Ahmed Mater Al-Ziad Aseeri the 32 year old Saudi Arabian medical practitioner and artist, a prominent member of a contemporary artist group known as ‘Edge of Arabia”, has overseen the opening of an exhibition in Jeddah titled “We need to talk” curated by fellow artists Mohammed Hafiz and Stephen Stapleton. Edge of Arabia a nonprofit organization to support middle eastern artists, was launched to record breaking attendances with a major exhibition in London 2008 showcasing 17 Saudi Arabia artists. Mater claims prognosis is a central theme in his work, stating “from this knowledge of both loss and enlightenment [Mater] appears to have the ability to move from expressing sadness and anger to sharing … insights with a sense of humor and lifegiving lightness.” Reid Singer in an article published on Artinfo.com states “Though Saudi Arabia was largely unaffected by the wave of popular uprisings that took place across the Middle East during 2011’s Arab Spring, the political environment in the country remains tense. In this atmosphere, many forward-thinking Saudi artists have downplayed the political significance of their work and couched it in conservative terms.”

Inspired by Reid Singer http://ow.ly/8ZpGU image source Twitter http://ow.ly/8ZqzW