Mammary Mountain at ArtBomb

Come see Mammary Mountain, a new VR artwork at ArtBomb in Doncaster - exposing Breast Cancer treatment stories

New Work by Tara Baoth Mooney, Maf'j Alvarez & Camille Baker

30th April - 4th May 2024

10-6pm daily

ArtBomb Shop

60 Hall Gate, Doncaster

Mammary Mountain is an intimate immersive virtual reality(VR) experience that explores dis-ease within the body during breast cancer and the body's relationship to the broader context of the land. This new immersive experience tells the stories of patients and survivors healthcare struggles, and the hidden experiences of breast cancer treatment.

Mammary Mountain is a unique experience set in a doctor's office. Mammary Mountain is a unique experience set in a doctor's office. As 'patients', the visitors wears a special vibration jacket - vibrating in the breast lymph node areas of the body - and VR headset, sitting in a bespoke chair shaped like a breast to experience this intimate experience. The artists hope this work ignites new public engagement, ultimately resulting in a more nuanced and holistic understanding of the breast cancer treatment experience.

The piece is explored through illustrations, poetry, personal story, and field recordings of Tara Baoth Mooney, created while going through cancer treatment herself. Mooney recorded the steps from the bed in her room to the radiotherapy department, recording the machines inside and the birds and water outside. These recorded sounds and drawings have been further brought to life through the strong visual 3D landscape and evocative animation created by Maf’j Alvarez using VR. It is then embodied through a haptic garment, which vibrates in areas of the body affected by pain or discomfort mapped to the breast lymph nodes of the chest, underarm and back. The project concept, narrative framework and content development, story collection and editing, grant writing, community outreach and workshop development, staging, and promotion, as well as overall project production, has been done by Camille Baker.