A major new output from Dr Antonia Mackay’s current research, which examines rapid digitisation of maternal healthcare during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, will be showcased in March 2026.
Motherhood in Lockdown: A VR Immersive Experience will be installed in the VR Cave on the Headington Hill Campus at Oxford Brookes University, with individual headsets available for public exploration over a two-week period.
The installation invites audiences to step inside the emotional and physical isolation created by the pandemic’s shift to digital healthcare, incorporating poetic interventions by Kate Thirlwall to transform research data into an affective, immersive environment.
This exhibition forms part of an emerging Impact Case Study and extends Antonia’s broader research portfolio on surveillance, digital culture and feminist corporeality. Related recent work includes the 2025 podcast Digitising Motherhood: How the Pandemic Reshaped Maternal Healthcare, alongside forthcoming publications with Palgrave Macmillan and Vernon Press on maternal surveillance, digital culture and American literature.
Supported by Research Excellence Awards, Impact Development funding and external grants from the Sheila Kitzinger Programme (Green Templeton College, Oxford), Dr Mackay’s interdisciplinary projects bring together healthcare practitioners, digital media specialists, writers and theatre partners.