The Teddy Bear Cabinet features a series of portraits of handcrafted teddy bears. The portraits resemble 19th century cabinet cards; an early form of photography, which was often displayed in glass cabinets. This practice evolved into the conventional family album.

The teddy bears have been made from keepsakes such as baby clothes, muslins, pregnancy jumpers and baby blankets. The images represent familiar memories of nurturing in the elusive cabinet of stories of early motherhood.

This work draws upon the Theory of Attachment, introduced by British psychologist John Bowlby in his book Attachment and Loss, published in 1969. This theory proposes that the mother-infant physical closeness and responsiveness during the early years of life is most crucial to emotional nurturing, cognitive development and lifelong mental health. This also endorses a "lasting psychological connectedness between human beings" (Bowlby, 1969).

Dr Christina Kolaiti is a practising artist based in North Tyneside and senior lecturer in photography at York St John University, whose research over the past two decades has converged the fields of arts and healthcare.

The exhibition has been organised by Northumbria Healthcare’s Bright charity. For the past 20 years Bright has developed an award-winning healing arts programme, which uses art to enhance the hospital environment for patients, visitors and staff. For information, see https://www.northumbria.nhs.uk/