Surface Echoes: bringing the realities of eczema to life through art, sound and storytelling
By Sara Brown, Grant Chair of Dermatology and Section Head of Genetic and Experimental Medicine at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer
Eczema is an itchy, inflammatory skin condition that can affect every aspect of a person’s life, health and wellbeing. But people living with eczema report feeling that their experiences are not well understood and frequently trivialised by healthcare workers, colleagues and even family members who struggle to understand. The Surface Echoes project set out to change this, by bringing the written and spoken quotes of people living with eczema to new and wider audiences.
Surface Echoes is an art-science creative project that was funded by a ScotPEN Wellcome Engagement Award. The award commenced in May 2022 and over the past 3 years, through collaboration with the artist Beverley Hood, organisation ASCUS Art and Science and patient support group Eczema Outreach Support, we have worked with members of the public with lived experience of eczema to amplify their voices to reach a wider audience.
Surface Echoes is a freely available resource, released in three forms:
- A creative collage of verbatim quotes from people affected by eczema – displayed within the NHS Dermatology Department, Lauriston Building, Edinburgh.
This position has been chosen as a prime site for visibility to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and healthcare workers in training – the audiences highlighted by our participants as being the people who they felt most needed to hear their voices.
2. A script of these quotes, designed for use by professional groups, families, friends, colleagues or individuals wishing to learn more about the realities of life with eczema. The pdf script is available for download here.
3. An audio recording of the diverse voices bringing the script to life. This powerful material is available here.
In April 2025, we gathered in a beautiful and inspirational space within the Edinburgh Futures Institute to celebrate the public launch of Surface Echoes. The atmosphere was warm, joyful, and deeply moving, as many of the contributors to the project saw the completed resources for the first time.
Audio listening stations invited guests to sit and experience the soundscape of Surface Echoes, while printed scripts were available to page through and reflect upon. It was a space for conversation, reconnection, and discovery, where collaborators across disciplines — from healthcare and academia to art and lived experience of eczema— came together to celebrate the work and its impact. Attendees were also invited on to the Dermatology Department in the Lauriston Building to view the collage from which the Surface Echoes script was developed.
From the onset, Surface Echoes was shaped by people with lived experience of eczema. Their stories formed the foundation of the creative process, working with texts and verbatim quotes to develop the layered collage, narrative script, and audio soundscape. This collaboration ensured that the resources genuinely portray the condition with accuracy, emotional depth, and integrity.
Throughout the evening, the energy was one of shared achievement. The voices, stories, and visuals that shaped Surface Echoes resonated throughout the room, making the event a powerful testament to what collaboration and care can create.
Hear more from the Surface Echoes team and reflections from invited guests at the launch event here.
Thanks to Keira Tucker, at ASCUS Art & Science, for drafting this blog and Lauren Kelly, University of Edinburgh, for editing.
We are very grateful for the ScotPen Wellcome Engagement Award (220875/Z/20/Z) which funded this work and to the many people who shared their lived experience with us. With thanks to Catherine Street and James Brook for the development of the collage and PDF design, and Liam Russell for the sound design of the audio (with support from Dave Miller). Additional thanks go to James Brook, Elicia Daly, Claire Doyle, Dyfan Dwfor, Pauline Goldsmith and Sarah Rose Graber for giving their voices to these experiences and Robert Motyka (Wee Dog Media) for videography of the launch event.
Images © Sally Jubb Photography
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