Swift sculpture installation at Dyson Cancer Centre July 2, 2023
Back in June, I went along to the new Dyson Cancer Centre at Royal United Hospitals Bath to oversee my Swifts sculpture being installed.
Back in June, I went along to the new Dyson Cancer Centre at Royal United Hospitals Bath to oversee my Swifts sculpture being installed.
It was great to have Kier, the construction partner for the Dyson Centre, on hand to help crane in the sculpture. How much easier it is when you have an army of competent helpers that have a crane! It was definitely a bit different from my usual day’s work.
Everyone involved really enjoyed the day. After months of logistics and planning, not to mention sculpting and then waiting for it to come out of the foundry, it was fantastic to see the Swifts settled in to their new home.
The patron who commissioned the sculpture in honour of his late wife, and who was there to witness the installation, said:
“Well done! Just a great result at the end of an enjoyable project, and I am so pleased that everything went smoothly today, a tribute to all concerned.. and some excellent and skilled planning. Like you, I cannot wait to see the completed space, and the overall ambience and sense of uplift to one’s spirits from your sculpture when the Dyson Centre is fully functional.”
And the manager of Art at the Heart of the RUH, said:
This has been such a special project to work on. I’m really looking forward to seeing the court yard all finished, planted up and in use.
It was lovely to receive a message from one of the cancer nurses:
“I want to thank Hamish for his Art. I am a Cancer Research nurse working in Bristol. The past few years have been such a hard time for all of us around the world, and working in healthcare during this time has been a real trauma. What has helped me daily is my love of art and artists, and your work Hamish has been inspirational and enabled me to keep looking to the future for hope, whilst also driving me to joyful tears. So, thank you. Keep Art working for the future.”
(Stephen Lang RN, Lead Research Nurse)
You can read more about the making of this sculpture here: Making Bronze Swifts Sculpture for the Dyson Cancer Centre and visit the sculpture page here: Swifts 2022