Untitled (red rose), Fusion commission

This work was commissioned for the eye hospital by ArtLink as part of their Fusion artist in residence programme at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Being a patient can be a nerve wracking experience, waiting can be uncomfortable and tedious and hospitals are confusing places to navigate particularly for the visually impaired. Discussion with patients, visitors and staff indicated that the kind of imagery most people would like to see was of scenes of nature particularly the garden so this is what I focused on creating. At each reception point on the ground floor of the Eye Pavilion a backlit photographic image of flower/s on a circular lightbox is displayed on a wall of colour. The aims were to help with orientation, give people a focus while they were waiting, and to make the environment more pleasant and supportive for patients, staff and visitors. The photographs of the flowers are intended to be visible to people with a spectrum of visual impairments as well as to suggest the experience reported by cataract patients describing their vision after a successful operation - ie hyper real, highly detailed and vibrantly coloured. I was interested in creating a vibrant pulse between the dominant colours in the images and the complementary colours I selected for the background walls. I also used scent to aid in orientation and hopefully relieve stress. A bamboo planter was designed and constructed by Tim Monroe for the project which was positioned in the main entrance and jasmine was planted. Essential oil burners were positioned at reception points in waiting areas.