Hawk this way by Ruth Garde

Though saliva is essential to our oral wellbeing, most of us pay little attention to this most mundane of human secretions. But our language suggests how critical it is both to our culture and bodies: ‘Spitting image’; ‘I could spit’; ‘swapping spit’; ‘licking one’s wounds’; ‘I spit on your grave’ are just a handful of expressions encapsulating the many uses and abuses of saliva.

‘Hawk this way’ will shine a spotlight on spit by looking at the language, history, science and culture of saliva – its role in speech, taste and digestion, its potential as a forensic and diagnostic tool, and its central place in our health and identity. It will explore how saliva arouses conflicting feelings of attraction and repulsion. It will uncover the origins of the spit-based phrases we use every day and will invite the audience to take part in playful participatory activities.

Biographies

Ruth Garde is a curator and writer focusing on the intersection of art and science. Over the last thirteen years Ruth has worked on a variety of curating, writing, research and public engagement projects at Wellcome Collection. These projects have been interdisciplinary in nature, bringing art, culture, science and well-being together in exciting, challenging and often playful ways. Most recently Ruth co-curated the Wellcome exhibition “Tibet’s Secret Temple” which ran from November 2015 to February 2016.