Lost Words artwork brings in the natural world to Care of the Elderly Ward
Specially commissioned artwork for the new Gallery Ward 2 at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital brings a sense of the peace of the natural world into the busy ward environment.
Based on the award-winning book The Lost Words, the series of beautiful illustrative works connects patients and staff to their lives outside the ward in a space that feels cared for and invested in. The artwork is a collaboration between the co-creators of the bestselling book The Lost Words by artist Jackie Morris and author Robert Macfarlane, and designer Alison O’Toole. Using words, themes, and images from its pages, the large-scale wall designs were created to help de-institutionalise the space and bring some warmth and distraction for all those who use it.
Gallery Ward 2 provides care for the elderly, including those with dementia and others who are acutely frail. Part of a wider Centres of Excellence development programme, the new £4.5m ward opened in 2022, with an environment that has been specifically tailored towards meeting the needs of patients with dementia.
The commission was funded by the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity
In wider discussions about health, we often hear about nature’s power to enhance well-being and to heal. Jackie and I hope that our images and words, inspired by the living world, can offer a sense of calming, restorative beauty and well-being, as patients, visitors and medical staff use this space. As the son and brother of doctors, I have spent a lot of time on wards, and it moves me to see the care and imagination that has been put into aligning art and health in Gallery Ward.
Robert Macfarlane, author, The Lost Words