art and environment - commissioned artworks

Making the building a work of art

Working in close collaboration with the Design Team, the Lead Artist guided a commissioning process that identified key places within the building where artwork would enhance its environment and would itself be enriched by the healthcare context.

At GHH the artworks are at one with the building itself and journeys around the new hospital by patients, staff and visitors offer carefully created moments of interest and delight. In keeping with this philosophy, the choice of artists and their work did not aim always for instant impact, or even entertainment, but instead aspired to long term appreciation that would contribute to the healing process.

Through discussion, the Design Team agreed early on in the commissioning process to avoid overtly representational works which might have the potential for negative connotation or leave themselves open to ambiguously disturbing interpretation. Instead, it was decided that artworks should be in keeping with the overall aesthetics of the interior and exterior environment and a particular accent was placed on the use of natural materials. Since the underlying idea of the hospital and the design process was linked to the notion of combining separate elements to create a whole, weaving became a metaphor for healing – paper in translucent layers, fabric layered and stitched, copper strands woven with silk, and willow entwined with ash.

After a long process of visiting exhibitions, trawling artist data bases and group deliberation, a small team of artists based in the west of Scotland were commissioned to create artworks for the new healing environment – Kirsty Aitken, Jim Buchanan, Jill Blackwood, Elaine Clarke, Lizzie Farey and Jane Kelly herself. Andrew McIntyre later joined the Design Team to design and implement original stainless steel and Perspex cases and fixings for the presentation of the finished pieces. In addition, Mike Bolum was commissioned to photograph the project and Cameron McIlwham was commissioned to create this website.

“'Paradox' and 'God Shouting' are intensive areas of colour and texture. They are vibrant and rich, they require the viewer to return again and again to the works in order to fully absorb the energy and joy that these textiles radiate.”

Jilli Blackwood.

Jilli Blackwood's work can be seen in the Nurses' Station and in the Patients’s Sitting Room overlooking the garden.