BARTS BREAST CARE CENTRE, BARTS HOSPITAL
James Aldridge, David Batchelor, Rowena Dring, Cornelia Parker, George Shaw, Shahzia Sikander, DJ Simpson
The award winning Barts and the London Breast Care Centre is considered a pioneering example of public art commissioning in a healthcare setting. A series of site specific commissions from leading artists are integrated with the architecture, to produce moments of contemplation; creating spaces that positively encourage distraction and discussion.
The art programme was curated for Vital Arts by Theresa Bergne of Field Art Projects, and took as its starting point the feedback that visitors would rather be ‘anywhere, but here.' To this end, the expression of landscape explored by all the art installed offers an element of ‘transportation,' offering viewers the opportunity to think about being ‘somewhere else,' if only in mind.
WEST WING, making art and architecture work for health is available to buy in the Vital Arts shop
James Aldridge, 'Twilight'
acrylic on canvas/hardboard, vinyl and perspex, 2004
James Aldridge’s paintings explore notions of natural beauty inspired by images taken from nature books, bird watching guides and fabric prints. At Barts, Aldridge has created a series of painted screens that frame the windows of the second floor waiting room. In creating this work, Aldridge has drawn together influences from ancient Roman frescoes and nineteenth century French wallpaper. He has chosen to depict ‘twilight’ because as he explains, ‘it is a magical, almost unreal time. I wanted the play of light on the screens to allow the landscape to appear to change rather than being fixed at a certain point. I hope the layers within the work will provide viewers with a visual journey and space for contemplation.’
Aldridge was born in
Rowena Dring, 'Think of paradise'
fabric applique, 2004
Dring uses a traditional form of needlework (fabric appliqué) to create illusionary utopias and Gardens of Eden in a never-ending quest for
George Shaw, 'Home'
Humbrol paint and board, 2004
George Shaw’s paintings often explore the landscape of his childhood home, a post war housing estate in
Shaw was born in
Cornelia Parker, 'Still Life with Reflection'
Domestic silverware, 2004
Cornelia Parker’s work has a sense of humour, but also a subtle spiritual quality that encourages the viewer to take a longer look. At Barts, Parker observes that the waiting room is, by its very nature, a limbo place where time and reality can feel suspended. On being asked to create an artwork for such a room with the potential of a captive audience, Parker felt the blank ceiling was the appropriate place for it to be located. As she explains, “The contemporary ceiling is usually a neglected empty space with no decoration, but further back in history, the ceiling was a popular site for art. In the lofty rooms of stately homes, eyes are taken upwards to enjoy the paintings or carvings that might adorn them. The artists who created them would often employ a technique known as trompe I’oeil, to trick the eye. Through the clever use of perspective, this would give an illusion of three dimensionality to what were in fact painted flat illusions or carved low relief’.
Parker was born in 1956 in
David Batchelor, 'West Wing Spectrum'
Neon light, steel and acrylic, 2004
David Batchelor’s large-scale works are usually made in response to a particular setting and seek to interrupt this setting through the use of found objects and intense artificial colour. At Barts, however, Batchelor has created an artwork that seeks to enhance rather than disrupt the beauty of the eighteenth century stairwell. His glowing neon lights frame the original windows and are designed to be visible from every level of the building, but not visible in their entirety from any one point. As he says, ‘ the work will change throughout the day as the light levels alter: in full daylight the work will glow quite softly; at night it will appear much brighter’.
Batchelor was born in
Shahzia Sikander, Land-escapes'
Digital prints, 2004
Shahzia Sikander is a painter who works in the tradition of Indian miniature painting, using themes and images from Hindu and Islamic mythology to create delicate minimal landscapes. For the West Wing, Sikander has created a series of landscapes that are derived from details found in a few selected schools of Persian and Indian miniatures from both Hindu and Muslim cultures. Stylised and stripped of sentiment, the images are whimsical and buoyant and are intended to transport the viewer into imaginary worlds. The images use a reverse layering process - instead of building layer upon layer of information, Sikander removes them. She says, ’my aim is to create a dialogue with traditional form and to understand its relevance to contemporary expression. The works are a commentary on lived experiences, art history and pop culture, demonstrating that art can be a tool for transgression and questioning as well as for contemplation’.
Sikander was born in
DJ Simpson, Check, Double Check'
Laminate and birch plywood, 2004
DJ Simpson makes his work by 'drawing' directly onto wooden panels with a carpenter's router cutter, to create beautiful, spontaneous sculptural reliefs that invite the viewer to touch them. In the main waiting room, Simpson has created three large-scale panelled walls that seek to work with the historic features of the building. As DJ Simpson explains, 'the walls I'm using have a format that might make you think of a traditional landscape. It's a common human game to project an image on to something abstract but there are all kinds of spaces to imagine other than the picturesque'.
Simpson was born in Lancaster in 1966 and educated at Reading University and Goldsmiths College, London.
The West Wing is also featured in the following publications:
The power of art visual arts: Evidence of impact, regeneration, health, education and learning
Designed with care: Design and neighbourhood healthcare buildings
West Wing Evaluation Report
