Face to Face: The New Normal was a major exhibition by Vic McEwan developed during three years of creative research exploring medical science and contemporary arts practice. 

While in residence at the Sydney Facial Nerve Clinic in 2019-2022, Vic worked on the front lines of clinical treatment with medical staff and patients experiencing facial nerve paralysis, examining what impact a contemporary artist might have within the clinical environment.

Outcomes from this creative research included an exhibition of evolving work at Tate Liverpool from 3-22 March 2020, an exhibition at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from 8 February–8 May 2022, and a forum bringing together practitioners in arts and health to offer an experiential exploration of caring on 26 August 2022.
The exhibition was developed through observations, interaction and direct sharing of experiences to create both intimate and large-scale interactive installations using sound, sculpture, photography, projection, performance, 3-D scanning and 3-D printing.

The exhibition highlighted the potential for medical science and the arts to come together to nurture the human dimensions of illness and trauma, exploring issues of identity and the self through the human face.

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Read a review of the exhibition by Penelope Grist from the National Portrait Gallery.