Hospital: a living architecture
The second person in this story, perhaps who has stuck with me even more, is the woman’s husband. Despite the situation, he remained the most positive person I met that day. After saying goodnight to his wife, he danced down the corridor and expressed his gratitude for the care his wife was receiving. He was going to the cinema. A man fully aware of his wife’s condition, seemingly determined to make his last memories positive.
This creative project has prompted me to think more deeply about this experience. In my drawing, the man is leaving the hospital, alone, looking back at his wife who remains upstairs in a ward. Two doctors are leaving work, together, with their partner or as friends. I wonder what happened to this man, whether beneath his positivity he feels lonely and afraid or if he truly had accepted what was happening as a part of life.
Whilst developing my artwork I additionally thought about the role different people play within the hospital, and also how the hospital becomes an important aspect of peoples’ lives.
The hospital, a product of the people inside it, becomes an integral part of life to so many. Whether it’s the place of work, teaching and learning, healing or loss, hospitals are places of great significance to their communities. Hence, in my piece, the architectural lines of the hospital building overlap with the drawings of people, they are interlinked. Individuals make up a part of the hospital, as does the hospital become part of each person.
Shortlisted for a Creative Assignment Prize 2019 – 2020
I really enjoyed this artwork as to me it resonated the love and compassion that is encouraged within a clinical environment. The translucency of the image and the monochrome architecture imitates how the fabric of a clinical setting is only a foundation, one that remains constant throughout the moving of many people. But it is these people, the staff, the visitors and the patients that embody the meaning and colour within healthcare. Perhaps the image of the man’s wife in the upper corner of the artwork reflects the possibility that soon his wife could be looking down on her husband walking out into the world again after her passing.
I loved the unique style of this piece. The simplicity of the line drawing used for the hospital shows that each person is connected through the framework of the building. The use of perspective to create a long, empty corridor in the centre of the page also seems to emphasise the distance between the man and his wife, perhaps both physically and emotionally. The embrace of the 2 doctors leaving is a reminder that, despite the empty and clinical background, there is still a warmth and intimacy present.
I particularly like this piece of work due to its simple, black and white, linear background contrasting with the coloured, more complex people. It reminded me a lot of the feelings I get when I am inside a hospital. The architecture and building can tend to be basic. Clinical. Even dull. But the knowledge that every person walking inside of it has a complex and unique situation to being there, is what makes them so attractive to me. The visual representation of the loneliness one must experience when seeing your life partner slip away slowly. How it must loom over your day. In the same way the image of his wife looms over him, in black and white.
Similarly, the juxtaposition of the couple leaving the hospital also makes for an interesting comparison. Two adults, not yet touched or affected by old age, in the same building as a couple who are. It almost serves as a ‘before and after’ image of what ageing leads to. It also causes one to reflect on how in hospitals, you will find people in close geographical proximity, but in totally different emotional or mental states. Some will have successful, productive and positive days, while in the same building someone can be experiencing the worst stage of their life.
This piece really struck out to me as the interaction between the human side and the physical side of the hospital are juxtaposed against each other in this drawing. Whilst the physical building is unchanging and may appear the same to all of us at first glance, we all experience it in different ways and it means different things to each of us. To each patient, doctor, nurse, student or other staff member we have different memories associated with the building. To many elderly patients it can be the last front door they enter and the doctors and nurses may be the last face they see before they enter a coma which they may never wake from. To many family members it can be the place where their partner, brother, sister or parent went for life saving treatment or where they unfortunately passed away after a long protracted battle with cancer. Every physician interaction can leave a lasting impact on each patient and family member as they may often be in a vulnerable state when inside the hospital. It is our duty to take care of all inside the hospital and ensure their stay is as pleasant as possible no matter the circumstances they may be in. Before leaving, it is our duty to make sure they are as physically and mentally well as they can be.
This artwork stood out to me in particular because of the level of detail as well as the story behind the idea. Before even considering the context of the piece, it is clear that the artist has a great talent for line drawings. They have positioned the figures in such a way that we can already start to understand the story without the explanation. The portrait of the lady in the top right-hand corner with her husband looking up at her shows her importance both to him but also to us as we try to gain an understanding of the situation. The doctors are clearly leaving work by the angle that they are drawn, but this angle also indicates the respect that these doctors have for the patient’s privacy and for her last few moments with her husband.
The intertwining and crossing of the lines to represent the community values of the hospital brings the whole piece together very well and clearly demonstrates the strength and unity that can be found in patients and staff in a hospital.
To me, this piece highlights humanity in healthcare.
The artist’s observation of the patient’s return to an infantile state is vivid and harrowing. The patient floats, ghost-like, above her husband and the doctors. It seems she is at the intersection between life and death.
And yet, the contrast between the patient’s condition and her husband’s state of mind demonstrates the complexity of grief. Must we put our lives on hold when we lose those we love?
It is evident, however, that the husband keeps his wife in his memory, portrayed cleverly through the direction of his gaze. He may dance on, but always, it would seem, with his wife in mind.
The transparent couple walking into the distance vividly conveys the impact that the people have on a hospital, and the impact that hospitals have on people.
Through life, through death, through happiness and sadness; hospitals will always be there to care.
This piece was one that looked quite simple on the outside, but instantly I noticed that the lines that make up the infrastructure of the people overlap with the individuals within the hospital. As I read the description, I later realised how true the fact of patients also making up the hospital is and amazed at how deep of an impression a GP consultation has on us medical students. As I spent a lot of time in hospitals growing up, I could really relate on the fact that within a hospital, there is a community within itself which is made up of the energy of both doctors and healthcare professionals but also patients. I feel that because hospitals are the place of birth and new life or death and loss or grievance or pain and illness, this forms that tight knit community even more which is also shown by the two doctors walking out hand in hand. I especially loved the attitude of the old man determined to make his last memories good ones, showing that although the hospital may be a place tied to bad memories and grievances, it can also be seen as a place for people to feel a little more at comfort, or taken care of, and these opportunities can be used to make the best memories possible.
This piece does a fantastic job in showing us how connected people in the hospital environment are with one another. I particularly loved the positive connotations associated with this piece where the man is trying to make his last memories still good ones despite his wife’s state of health. It also depicts how the hospital is central and fundamental to life today and is a place where patients are not only treated and cared for but also a place of teaching, community values and comfort where loved ones can be reunited. Finally it shows how so many individuals have their own story to tell in a hospital environment and each share a different and personal experience of being here whether it’s the last or first doors they see or who they meet and the healthcare professionals that can impact their life.
This piece stood out to me initially because of the contrast between the simplicity of the building in the background and the amazing detail of the people, in particular the old woman. The piece really highlights how what truly makes a hospital is the people within it whether that be staff members, patients or family/friends visiting patients and how different the individual experience is within the hospital.
Also the contrast between the 2 doctors physically embracing and going home together and the man who is leaving alone highlights how even though the man is physically not with his wife she is always with him in his mind and also makes you think about how the man must be feeling when surrounded by people who can be with their loved ones. Additionally, the fact that the 2 doctors are going in a different direction shows how different the 2 experiences have been- for the doctors it has likely been just another day at work whereas for the man he has been spending time with his dying wife.
This piece beautifully captures the human, holistic side of medicine. The way the lines of the infrastructure are connected to the detail of the figures portrays the symbiosis between the patients and the hospital. It demonstrates how people and patients define a hospital, forming a community and how hospitals, healthcare workers and healthcare experiences can influence the lives of patients and their families. To have the older man featured alongside the younger couple emphasises the idea of a hospital community and the human side of medicine that also happens alongside clinical medicine housed within the hospital. The artist has observed and drawn on a subtle and nuanced interaction between the husband and wife and has portrayed it beautifully. They have captured the emotion between the couple as well as the acceptance of the situation, each trying to remain positive in light of things. As the husband is looking back at his wife it is as though he is sad to leave but knows she is safe, in the best possible place and has been supported by the hospital to come to terms with this. The fact that the familiar front of the BRI forms the main backdrop also makes it easy to instantly connect with this piece.