Hospitals: Dursley & Tewkesbury

The Vale Hospital, Dursley

At the Vale Hospital my brief was to create a series of uplifting and sympathetic illustrative art works to adorn the outpatient corridor and paediatric consulting rooms. The work had to meet stringent health and safety standards and withstand a regular deep clean.

My solution was to inkjet print my designs onto a brushed aluminium substrate called Dibond. This medium is light, strong, rigid and can be cut to a specific contour. It is easy to remove when necessary and to wipe clean in situ. Aesthetically it resembles the raw material sheet metal, which I like very much.

The drawings themselves were intended to capture a notion of care, of nurture, of reassurance and of fun. I chose a selection of animals native to the immediate locality, including reference to the infamous local steam train the Dursley Donkey. Each artwork, approx. 2m x 1m, is intended to light up the journey down the outpatient corridor: reassuring, familiar, unchallenging and unusual. Talking points for parents and children alike.

Tewkesbury Hospital

A similar commission to the Vale Hospital project,  this project was for the new children’s waiting area.

The selection committee included six child ambassadors alongside health and art professionals. Once secured, the brief was to work with local schools to inform my designs, which through a series of interactive drawing workshops, distilled down to 3 main panels. Each panel specifically depicted local Tewkesbury wildlife, reconfigured in my clear graphic style. Each was to provide a talking point and distraction for young children occupying the waiting room. My designs are simple yet contain multiple points of reference and interest. Full colour inkjet printing onto brushed aluminium dibond, including smaller individual bird disks to expand the images and unify the 3 main panels.