Residency, Art in Hospital

In collaboration with Art in Hospital, this project was developed from research between the arts and healthcare sectors. The project took place in Greenfield Park care-home for older people, where many residents are confined to the grounds due to their health.  The aim was to create a project with multiple benefits for the residents; impacting their health, stimulation, creativity and the power to better their environment. The ultimate aim was to improve their quality of life through a more holistic approach. Gardening and photography became the main activities. Photography provided new learning and a creative outlet. The communal garden area we created gave new life and colour.

 

The communal garden area before

  

                                                                                           The residents help with planting

      

                                                                                                         The garden in bloom

The project began in the spring and ran through to winter. In the early stages we planted a garden where many of the rooms looked out onto, which originally was a very concrete space. We used a selection of plants and flowers chosen deliberately for their evocative scent and colour. As the garden area grew it became our visual inspiration. We used a range of photography equipment to document it, including an IPAD and DSLR with 100mm macro lens. We kept several plants potted and picked a mixture of flowers to bring inside, as mobility and weather were restricting. When photographing, we played with composition and colour and incorporated other artefacts to create different arrangements. Individuals then chose their digital photographs to work on in Photoshop, experimenting with cropping, colour density and filters. They also drew directly onto the photographs, which allowed unassisted control and a more tactile approach.

The residents experiment with materials and techniques

                                                                       Photographs by Christene Farren

                                       Photographs by Anne McDines

                                                            Photographs by John Walters

                                                                              Collage by Anne McDines

                                                                               Collage by Norah Douglas

The project resulted in an in-house exhibition showing these photographs, alongside a small publication. Through this exhibition and the creativity of the residents, we created ‘windows’ bringing a piece of the natural outdoors in. For those residents who often live very internal lifestyles, the project provided them more ownership on their everyday setting, making it a more positive and personal space.

 

 ‘The Green Room’ publication