Brian Keeley, a PhD student in the department of Film and Visual Culture, will celebrate the 10th anniversary of his heart transplant with a special screening of a film inspired by his critical illness and the vital role that love played in his survival.
The film The Shared Light (2021) was created in collaboration with fellow artist and his wife, Bibo Keeley. In their work, the artist duo reflect on their parallel journey navigating illness, recovery, and post-transplant life.
In July 2013 Brian suffered a severe heart attack while on holiday on the isle of Islay. He was airlifted to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Glasgow, where he was kept alive in intensive care until he was eventually listed for transplant three months later.
Brian said “My condition was so poor that we reached a point where palliative care was introduced, but fortunately I survived. On 2 November 2013 I underwent a heart transplant. This was a life-changing experience.”
Since then Brian has used his personal experience as a heart transplant recipient to inform both his creative practice and his PhD research, which focuses on representations of heart transplantation in contemporary art and visual culture.
A decade on from the transplant, Brian and Bibo will share their story and the continuing impact the experience has on their lives, through their recent collaborative films. This special free public screening at the University of Aberdeen is part of the Elphinstone Institute’s ethnographic film series and is followed by a question-and-answer session.
The Shared Light is based on the contemporaneous diary-letters which Bibo wrote to Brian during his months in intensive care in 2013 when she couldn’t share her thoughts directly with him due to his critical condition. The letters are a testament to her determination for a shared future amidst uncertainty and the very real possibility that Brian would not survive.
The film was made possible by a Maverick Award from the Tom McGrath Trust, with additional support from a Visual Artists Award from Creative Scotland in partnership with Aberdeen City Council. It was previously screened at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow, as part of The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, 2022. It was also included in the official selection at the Pärnu International Film Festival in Estonia, 2022.
Brian added: “The films explore trauma, emotion, and the subconscious mind, interweaving autobiographical themes with universal issues, acknowledging the importance of compassion.”
Professor Alan Marcus, Chair in Creative and Cultural Practice at the University of Aberdeen, said: “Brian is my first doctoral student to have lived without a pulse for 100 days! At the time, he was on life support while waiting for the possibility of receiving a new heart.
“As a heart transplant recipient, Brian’s tenacity and commitment to share his experiences through his creative practice has produced remarkable work as part of his research at the University.
“His films and other art works provide insight into the physiological and emotional processes of life adaptation, while dispelling myths and popular misconceptions about acquiring a new heart. The tough challenges posed by the pandemic for Brian and other transplant and immuno-suppressed individuals has been an important aspect of his research.”
The film screening, hosted by the Elphinstone Institute, will take place on November 2 from 6.30-8pm in room MR051 of the MacRobert Building at the University of Aberdeen.
Other films by Brian & Bibo Keeley which will be shown include:
Breathe - commissioned by the UNFIX Festival of Performance and Ecology, Glasgow.
Aware - commissioned by the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, screened at the CCA, Glasgow, in 2022.
Dear Betty - made possible by a funding award from the Hope Scott Trust, 2022.
It is free to attend and no booking is required. Please don’t attend if you have Covid or Flu symptoms.