Imaginary London Park, a series of twenty four prints installed throughout the Cystic Fibrosis Unit at Bart’s Hospital
The risk of cross infection at the Unit means that patients, who range in age from sixteen to mid-thirties due to limited life expectancy, are unable to socialise with each other, leaving them alone in their rooms for weeks on end. Recurring infections causes the same patients to be in and out of the Unit several times a year.
As part of Tom’s commission, he met with patients to gain insight into the particular circumstances of their condition, the hurdles they encounter, their hopes and fears in order to create a project that is relevant to their reality. The outcome is an urban park featuring humorous vignettes and unexpected elements. Each isolation room in the Unit displays a selection of prints from Tom’s Imaginary London Park series. Embedded within each image are an array of symbols that relate to an explanatory key, included in the rooms. Patients can imagine the variations in their own, as well as adjacent rooms. Due to frequent re-admission, patients can explore more of the work, and discover new vistas, when they return to the Unit and occupy a different room.
