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.
Sketches and development work for mural
