From rock band photography to physio degree

Iona Bateman 600px UoS supplied croppedOne student’s tumultuous journey from rock star photography to trainee physiotherapist – with a hand disability sustained along the way – is told as part of a current exhibition at the University of Southampton.

 

Article continues after this message...

Starting her working life in the fast lane, Bitterne Park resident Iona Bateman toured the world with some of the biggest names in rock.

As a professional photographer, she captured shots of the likes of Iggy Pop, The White Stripes, Foo Fighters and Green Day. It was a career that took off after a chance shot she took of the Stereophonics on a disposable camera in 1999 impressed the band and they used it on their website, paying her £150 – which she used to buy her first camera.

“It was a great job but a very hectic lifestyle,” she recalled. “I remember Iggy Pop told me at one stage I needed to calm down!”

Iggy Pop’s comment led Iona to shift her focus and she worked as a photographer and journalist in the Middle East for several years.

But, when she was working in Russia in 2010, a boxing injury that caused a permanent hand disability forced her to totally rethink her career.

Her injury was initially misdiagnosed as terminal bone cancer and she was told she had three months to live. By the time she returned to the UK and was correctly diagnosed with a benign wrist tumour, she was left with a permanent disability that prevents her from gripping or writing with her right hand.

Iona Bateman 600px UoS supplied

Iona, 43 is now a mature student in her second year of a physiotherapy degree at the University of Southampton. She is also vice-chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s disability network.

“I am really keen to raise awareness that people with disabilities can work in healthcare,” she said.

“I have faced discrimination and been told I can’t be a physio with my disability, but there are so many avenues you can go down in physiotherapy that disability isn’t a barrier.”

Iona has charted her journey from photographer to physio, and all the stumbling blocks she has faced along the way, in a short film that forms part of a new exhibition at the university. The film also pays tribute to her partner, Niroshan, who tragically passed away aged 41 from eye cancer during Iona’s first semester at university, on Christmas Day 2021.

“My short film, Moving Still, is a chaotic blend of my photographs and film clips amassed during the past 20 years, showing how the challenges we face can be transformed through resilience into opportunities for growth,” she explained. “Without experiencing adversity, I wouldn’t have achieved half the things I have done or be studying physiotherapy at the University of Southampton.”

Iona is one of nine students, all from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in higher education, who have created pieces and curated the multi-media exhibition, called Journeys of the Othered.

Emily Bastable, from the university’s students’ union, said: “This exhibition features the voices and stories of talented students who have persevered to achieve their dreams. Although they are a diverse group, their stories are connected by their talent and resilience.”

• Journeys of the Othered is running at Turner Sims, on the university’s Highfield campus, until Saturday, July 22.

We're reader powered! Please help us keep publishing today...

Our local news is currently free to view, but not to produce. Join people just like you who already chip in to keep our site going by becoming a 'Good Friend' supporter for just £2.99 a month - or more if you can.

Use the subscribe button below using a debit or credit card securely via PayPal. You don't need a PayPal account - just use the "Pay with Debit or Credit Card' option, when you click the 'Subscribe' button below, on the next screen. There's no obligation to open a PayPal account. Or use your existing PayPal account if you prefer. Or even better, contact us to set up a standing order so we get all your sub rather than PayPal taking a percentage.

Click here for other options/to set up a standing order - and help us keep on keeping on.

It's appreciated!

Subcription Options

 

Alternatively make a one-off donation here - you don't need a PayPal account for this option either.