Sudden Cardiac Art: An art and advocacy project

Sudden Cardiac Art

A collaboration between Charlie Kirkham and cardiac awareness advocates HeartCharged, this series uses the visual language of art history to confront gender disparity in cardiac survival rates. Women are significantly less likely to receive CPR from bystanders than men, a disparity that costs lives.

Drawing on art history, Kirkham reimagines iconic female figures alongside defibrillators, asking what it means to value a woman's life over her 'modesty'. The work is both a celebration of survival and a call to act.

Exhibited at Kingshill House (2024) and Keck Medical School Gallery, University of Southern California (2025).

This exhibition is available to tour. If you are interested in hosting Sudden Cardiac Art at your venue, please get in touch.

  • Charlie Kirkham, Kickstart My Heart: Give it a Start, Kickstart My Heart: Hope It Never Stops, Kickstart My Heart: My Heart, My Heart, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Kickstart My Heart: Give it a Start, Kickstart My Heart: Hope It Never Stops, Kickstart My Heart: My Heart, My Heart, 2024
    laser engraved acrylic
    55x25cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Kickstart My Heart: Give it a Start, Kickstart My Heart: Hope It Never Stops, Kickstart My Heart: My Heart, My Heart, 2024
    £ 150.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Bethany The Bionic Babe, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Bethany The Bionic Babe, 2024
    signed on back and front of panel
    oil on panel
    100x70cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Bethany The Bionic Babe, 2024
    £ 595.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Bethany Brown Leather, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Bethany Brown Leather, 2024
    Laser engraved leather
    29 x 42 cm
    Courtesy of Charlie Kirkham
    Copyright The Artist
    Chris Haywood
  • Charlie Kirkham, I Have Realized I Should Live Before I Die, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    I Have Realized I Should Live Before I Die, 2024
    signed on back and front of panel
    oil on panel
    100x70cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, I Have Realized I Should Live Before I Die, 2024
    £ 595.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Hannah Berry Leather , 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Hannah Berry Leather , 2024
    Laser engraved leather
    29 x 42 cm
    Courtesy of Charlie Kirkham
    Copyright The Artist
    Chris Haywood
  • Charlie Kirkham, Hannah Champagne Leather, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Hannah Champagne Leather, 2024
    Laser engraved on leather
    42 x 29 cm
    Courtesy of Charlie Kirkham
    Copyright The Artist
    Chris Haywood
  • Charlie Kirkham, She's A Shock Star! (Anastasija), 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    She's A Shock Star! (Anastasija), 2024
    Acrylic paint on laser engraved acrylic sheet
    30x42cm (each image 10x10cm)
  • Charlie Kirkham, Reviving the Venus of Willendorf, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Reviving the Venus of Willendorf, 2024
    Acrylic on laser engraved wood
    40x40cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Reviving the Venus of Willendorf, 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Princess Borghese Reclining, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Princess Borghese Reclining, 2024
    Acrylic on Laser engraved acrylic
    20x16cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Princess Borghese Reclining, 2024
    £ 50.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Two Reasons (Wood), 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Two Reasons (Wood), 2024
    Laser engraved wood
    13x17cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Two Reasons (Wood), 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Two Reasons (Gold), 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Two Reasons (Gold), 2024
    Laser engraved acrylic
    13x17cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Two Reasons (Gold), 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, La Fornarina with a Defib, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    La Fornarina with a Defib, 2024
    oil on panel
    41x51cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, La Fornarina with a Defib, 2024
    £ 350.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Reese's Candy Girl, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Reese's Candy Girl, 2024
    Acrylic on laser engraved wood
    15x24cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Reese's Candy Girl, 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, This Ain't The End: I Saw You Again, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    This Ain't The End: I Saw You Again, 2024
    Acrylic on Laser engraved black MDF
    18x18cm
  • Charlie Kirkham, This Ain't The End, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    This Ain't The End, 2024
    Acrylic on laser engraved wood
    18x18cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, This Ain't The End, 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, HeartCharged Mugshot, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    HeartCharged Mugshot, 2024
    Laser engraved wood
    20x16cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, HeartCharged Mugshot, 2024
    £ 50.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Saint Eulalia in Cardiac Arrest (After Waterhouse), 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Saint Eulalia in Cardiac Arrest (After Waterhouse), 2024
    Oil on panel
    41x51cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Saint Eulalia in Cardiac Arrest (After Waterhouse), 2024
    £ 350.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, After Lois Maelou Jones, La Baker with AED, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    After Lois Maelou Jones, La Baker with AED, 2024
    Acrylic paint pen and laser engraved wood
    42.5x47cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, After Lois Maelou Jones, La Baker with AED, 2024
    £ 295.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Reclining Nude with AED (After Matisse), 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Reclining Nude with AED (After Matisse), 2024
    Acrylic paint pen and laser engraved wood
    40x32cm
    Charlie Kirkham - Charlie Kirkham, Reclining Nude with AED (After Matisse), 2024
    £ 75.00
  • Charlie Kirkham, Scars are your Beautiful, 2024
    Charlie Kirkham
    Scars are your Beautiful, 2024
    Signed on front
    Laser Engraved, hand cut leathers
    42x59cm
    Courtesy of Charlie Kirkham
    Copyright The Artist
For the complete exhibition catalogue (group show) see Sudden Cardiac Art