Premier and Minister for the Arts Ted Baillieu today unveiled the stunning landmark artwork in the new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH).
Affectionately named ‘Creature’, the whimsical sculpture by Melbourne artist Alexander Knox is 14 metres tall and located in the hospital’s five storey atrium that is the centrepiece of Main Street, which runs through the hospital.
The artwork forms one of the key features of the new RCH and also ‘pARTicipate’, the therapeutic, education and creative arts program at the hospital. The program recognises the important role of art in the healing process and is integrated into the overall design features of the new, world-class RCH.
Creature is a playful jumble of organic shapes and colours. Its kind eyes look at a beautiful butterfly gently flapping its wings.
Artist Mr Knox says the curiosity displayed by both Creature and butterfly for one another is innocent, playful and kind.
“The interaction between these two creatures great and small sends a reassuring signal to a child that the hospital is a friendly place where little things are cared about,” Mr Knox said.
For weeks RCH patients have been crafting their own sculptures of how they imagined Creature to look. They were delighted today to catch their first glimpse of the huge sculpture, and to glean some plasticine sculpting techniques from the artist.
Floating gracefully above Creature in Main Street are five delicate mobile sculptures by artist Jade Oakley. Entitled ‘Sky Garden’, the playful suspended artworks feature fairies based on silhouettes of children leaping and jumping. The mobiles draw on the free-spirited nature of children and evoke a sense of wonder and peacefulness.
RCH CEO Professor Christine Kilpatrick says the hospital’s light-filled atrium, named Main Street, is the perfect setting for these major artworks as it forms the gateway to all hospital services.
“Main Street is the heart of the hospital. By featuring spectacular Australian art installations, Main Street will provide a backdrop that will become an iconic image in the hospital’s history,” she said.
Professor Kilpatrick says that, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, art imparts very real health benefits on patients and their families.Common flu turns into a desperate fight for life