This sculpture came about through a very long process which was motivated to mark the way that the North Bristol NHS Trust community had responded to Covid 19.

The Trust had an established reputation for commissioning visual arts – and particularly sculpture as an important contributor to patient engagement and wellbeing through their Fresh Arts Program.

The intention of this exceptional project was a specific response to Covid 19.

Having been invited to respond to the tender, I engaged with various parts of the hospital community and discovered a poetry group comprised mainly of people who had never written poetry before. I found their words extremely moving, and it seemed that integrating some of these words would be a suitable response.

I created this maquette to show the committee exactly what it would look like. The idea had been it would stand within a circular paved area, and it would have a light inside it so that the words would shine out at night.

Sadly at the 11th hour, the funding got pulled – ironically because of the demands of Covid 19. This maquette now stands in the grounds of Southmeade Hospital as a token reminder.