Friday 1 March 2019

New commission for Dorchester Hospital Trust, Dorset


My latest public art commission has been for Dorchester Hospital Trust, Dorset - as part of a project designed to raise the profile of and celebrate the gift of life through organ donation. There is currently an acute shortage of donors.

The project has been the initiative of the Organ Donation team at Dorset County Hospital, led by Consultant Anaesthetist Andy Ball and Specialist Nurse Helen Rose. The planning has involved spending time at the hospital speaking to the medical team, as well as organ recipients. 

The sculpture 'Precious Scars' uses the expired 'body' of an oak tree, kindly donated by the Lulworth Estate, where it died some time ago, and is now being re-born and reconstructed at the Hospital. It has been inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi where broken ceramics are lovingly restored with gold covered resin to highlight their cracks - rather than attempting to hide them. In this way they are reused and their faults become a thing of beauty instead of being thrown away. I see this as a metaphor for the way in which organ donation is a gift of life that repairs the recipient. 

Special thanks must go to Graham and The Lulworth Estate also Sid from Wootton & Dawe who helped with installation. Images courtesy of Sandy Kirkby and Brendan Buesnel.

The donor tree in the woods near Lulworth
Off to the studio
Scaffolding up and ready for new donor branches


An example of Kintsugi ceramics


Wagon chassis incorporating support fins for the tree trunk
Branches returned to the truck
Gold leaf applied






































Ready for installation on site

Installed on site at Dorchester Hospital

Tuesday 8 April 2014

March 2014

 
Two out of three heads fitted




 
Head sections back from the foundry

 
Stainless steel frame for the bus shelter 'Under the Hill'


 
Frame sections before casting

Sunday 26 January 2014

Mould making and welding - January 2014

 
Torpedo frame construction

 
Welding all the big bits!

 
Making the 'Throne' pattern prior to mould making

 
Big paw ready for mould

 
Silicone coating with 'keys' (for outer plaster jacket)

 
Torpedosaurs waiting for their heads
 

Monday 28 October 2013

Torpedoes and wings

Wheel/wing profiles
Profiles and found objects - many of the forms start out simply as cut-out shapes....others are fabricated from an existing object or 'found object'.


Mk 8 torpedo minus warhead!
These will be used to form the three Ichthyosaur bodies




 
Profile moulding for the giant 'frame'


Planning permission granted beginning of September, so I have been working on the initial forms and moulds prior to the casting process.

Ichthyosaur upper jaw clay work

Preparing lower jaw for moulding
Fibreglass head to be used as a 'plug' in the sandcasting process 
Torpedosaur sub frame under construction



 





 

Sunday 5 May 2013

April 2013 - Selection of detailed planning drawings




Visual content layout for 'Frame' by Weymouth illustrator-Katie Rewse