Crucible
Crucible is a major new public artwork commissioned by Brighton based Nimbus Group for Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust. It is part of Connect, the public art programme for the redevelopment of the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Below are drawings and development work made for the project, alongside the finished artwork. The final design was installed in 2023 as a 17 meter long mural connecting the new hospital to the John Barry Chapel (Grade II listed and preserved from the original building).
Crucible explores the history and heritage of the Royal Sussex County Hospital. It draws on rich resources from the Heritage Lottery Fund project, the Royal Sussex County Hospital: A People’s History from the 19th Century to the 21st Century, which is identifying, preserving and interpreting the social heritage of the hospital leading up to the development.
Crucible incorporates the collection of archive materials, oral histories and sound recordings, to tell the heritage and history of the hospital from people’s perspectives. Working with medics, staff, patients, local historians and a wide range of community groups of all ages, I ran creative workshops and did interviews to collect personal experiences, all of which I used as content and inspiration.
You can learn more about this multifaceted project here:
Maquette of the installed artwork.
Crucible is part of the The Louisa Martindale Building, which has been presented with two European Healthcare Design Awards 2024, which ‘recognises design excellence in the healthcare environment’.
Winner - Interior Design and Arts - An inspirational project that demonstrates exceptional skill in creating a compassionate healthcare environment that reflects and communicates the values of the healthcare provider through the integrated application of interior design with the visual arts.
Winner - Healthcare Design (Over 25,000 sqm) - An outstanding healthcare project in a community or primary care setting that demonstrates high levels of sustainability and urban integration, transforming the quality of care services in an accessible location, and supporting the integrated needs of staff, patients and the community.
Sketches and development work for mural
