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Blood: Ties and Tensions at Thackray Museum of Medicine

Maja Lorkowska, Exhibitions Editor

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Blood: Ties and Tensions

Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds
20 February-29 June 2025

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

From £8.95
An image of Vessel, an immersive sculpture at Thackray Museum's Blood exhibition
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired
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Thackray Museum of Medicine presents an exhibition on how deep blood runs.

This fascinating display offers a unique look at the substance we all share, and its contradictory characteristics – giving life and spreading disease, both flowing and having the ability to clot. Its symbolic meanings are rich too – blood binds and causes division.

Blood: Ties and Tensions explores its role in healthcare and related procedures as well as a wider social context. The show is co-curated with the ‘Hematopolitics project’ at the University of Leeds, inspired by research on the politics of blood donation in Japan and South Korea to offer a new perspective on objects in the Thackray collection.

The exhibition features a newly commissioned installation by artist Gemma Wood as well as objects and records of real-life experiences.

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