Are you an artist who works in the medium of sculpture? The George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, Nuneaton is looking to commission a 'Reflection Piece' sculpture that will act as a tribute to those in the North Warwickshire area who have been lost, not just to Covid, but of any cause throughout the pandemic. A budget of up to £8,000 will be available to the artist to include fees, materials, fabrication, delivery and installation.

From the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, the George Eliot Hospital Nuneaton has been at the forefront of treating patients suffering from severe cases of Covid 19 in the local area. The past 16 months have sadly seen the loss of both patients and staff to the disease as well as to the types of other causes that a frontline hospital usually deals with on a day-by-day basis. It has been a tremendously difficult time for the local community as well those working within the hospital general but especially those who have lost family, friends and colleagues.

The hospital’s board, recognising this, would like to commission a piece of artwork that will act as a tribute to those in the area who have been lost, not just to Covid, but of any cause throughout the pandemic. The goal of this project is to recognise the loss of those that have died, and pay tribute to their lives, and to create a point of focus for staff and visitors to reflect on the lives on the family, friends and colleagues they have lost.

Theme of the sculpture

The completed sculpture will sit within the hospital grounds where it can act as both a tribute to the lives of those that have died and serve a focal point remembering those that have been lost.

The word memorial is discouraged with the preference that the artwork be a ‘reflection piece’ that both staff and visitors can use as a focus when reflecting on the loss of loved ones and the losses of other people in the community.

The artist would be encouraged to integrate the theme of nature or the cycle of life into the artwork, and it should be able to convey it’s meaning universally to the diverse array of people that both work in and visit the hospital.

It is intended that the artwork also integrate a selection of words that reflect the feelings of those viewing the artwork. The words will be sourced from staff as part of an engagement for the project but would be along the lines of reflection, hope, loss, solace, absent friends, life and honour. The final word selection will be confirmed in the coming weeks and relayed to the shortlisted artists.

The artists would be encouraged to come up with an original, elegant and powerful artwork based on these themes. The panel will reserve the right to choose the final words from those submitted by staff.

Parallel Examples

There are many examples of remembrance pieces at hospitals across the country, but we would discourage the often-used cast bronze statue of a figure. Examples that have been discussed positively by the Wellbeing Group tasked with commissioning this artwork are sculptor James Sutton’s Values Tree sculpture composed of a steel trunk and copper leaves with words cut out of them and a sculpture made of a curved metal sheet that cast words in shadow when the sun shines through it. These are simply ideas and the artist is encouraged to come up with their own interpretation of the brief.

Site of project

The site of the sculpture is proposed to be in the recently refurbished Chapel Garden. The chapel garden is a designated ‘Oasis space’ where staff and visitors of all (or no) denomination can come to rest and reflect and is also by staff as a place to take breaks and relax and therefore should not have any overtly religious elements but have a universal relevance no matter the faith or background of the person viewing it.

The preference would be for the sculpture to be of a reasonable size and mounted on one of the walls in the garden, so people don’t necessarily have to sit on it or right next to it to use it as a focus for their reflection. The sculpture should be visually striking from a distance but have finer detail which can be appreciated up close.

The selected artist would be invited to visit the site to view the project site and discuss which would be the site in the garden with final approval coming from the Wellbeing group with advice from the Estates department.

Materials/ durability/ maintenance

Any durable sculptural material which would last for at least 20 years can be proposed, although it is noted that to create durable object of reasonable size, materials such as steel or copper may be appropriate.

The Artwork should be designed to require little or no maintenance and adhere to the hospitals health and safety and infection prevention policies, with the chosen artist also providing notes on maintenance and cleaning.

Installation

The artist will give instructions of how the sculpture will be affixed but will be installed by the hospital’s estates team in collaboration with the artist.

The artists should include for the costs of delivery, by Hi-ab lorry or as appropriate, and installation. A method statement will also need to be supplied.

Budget

A budget of up to £8,000 will be available to the artist to include fees, materials, fabrication, delivery and installation.

Selection Process

The process is as follows:

1. Invitation for artists to apply for the comission submitting their ideas, a cv and images of previous work.

2. Shortlisted artists will be invited to talk to a small panel composed of members of the hospitals wellbeing group and talk about their ideas online via MS Teams.

3. The selected artist will be chosen by the panel with final approval by the hospital board, subject to any planning issues.