Refraction - A Concept for the National Emergencies Trust
In the early months of the pandemic, the National Emergencies Trust approached me to consider an installation to help mark an extraordinary moment. They had raised nearly £100 million in the first thirty days of Covid, one of the fastest charitable fundraising responses in British history.
My proposal was a circle of twelve monumental glass prisms. Monumental but not grandiose. Each pillar represents a separate characteristic that emerged from the nation during that time such as neighbourliness, courage, scientific brilliance, dedication, kindness and others. The creative heart of the concept was that each prism would cast a natural spectrum of colour across the ground, reflecting the rainbow that the whole country had embraced in tribute to the NHS.
Full access, engagement and interactivity were central to the proposal. This was not an artwork to look at from a distance. It was designed to be walked through, stood among, and experienced from within.
The CGI visualisations show different contexts in which the concept could be realised - on a national landmark, in an urban park setting, and as a more intimate standalone work for a community location.
The concept was warmly received by the Trustees. The Board decided not to proceed.
Dimensions: 12 prisms, each H300cm x W80cm x D80cm
Materials: Glass
Date: May 2020
I photographed a village green and then placed single prism placed in sit via CGI, demonstrating how the concept could work at community scale. The natural spectrum cast by the glass captures exactly the rainbow effect the installation was conceived to create.
CGI visualisation showing the full installation in an imagined urban public space. The twelve prisms cast overlapping spectrums across the ground, their rainbow light accessible to everyone passing through, reflecting the nation's embrace of the NHS rainbow during the pandemic.
