SILENCE

Silence

2018, oil on canvas, 18 x 24″, permanent online gallery at the National Academy of Medicine (https://nam.edu/expressclinicianwellbeing/#/artwork/159)

The physician in today’s society has much to say but often feels unable or afraid to speak up. The painting depicts a ‘model’ head with perfect proportions, representing the idealized image of a physician. Although the model appears perfect, the viewer subtly notices the medical tape, used to silence the physician. The stethoscope around the neck, in the familiar, yet suffocating way is strategically perched to the viewer to depict that the physician is listening to what is going on all around, but cannot say a word.