'Your Next Breath', Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, January, 2023

A thought provoking memorial to the Covid19 pandemic sits in the gardens of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. There are four statues standing expressing emotions of despair, tiredness and exhaustion. These bronze cast life sized figures are based on the real life experiences of three health care workers. The work is called “Your next breadth” and you have to pass by it as you enter into the Royal College.

'Your Next Breath', Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, January, 2023
The four figures.

I was there for a conference and had the opportunity to visit the artwork. I was inspired to take many pictures at different angles of which my personal selection is shown in this blog. The artist and sculptor, Kenny Hunter, designed this work and I found more examples of his work on Instagram. These four figures are set out in a diamond with three looking forward and the fourth looking into the circle with arms outstretched. They radiate a powerful message about working at the frontline during Covid19 and are a fitting tribute to all the health workers that were involved in the care of patients.

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Like any emotive pieces of artwork, the photography is a challenge as you look to take a picture that is different from all the publicity pictures that have been taken. I felt privileged to be able to take the pictures that are in the blog. As readers will know, I have seen many tributes and several of them have been featured in my blog. The photography of this memorial adds to my increasing story of the pandemic and how people are remembering what happened. These tributes will allow people to find closure after a turbulent time in the history of mankind.

'Your Next Breath', Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, January, 2023
Even during the night.

This is one of several art installations that have occurred since the pandemic. I have provided links to these for your further reading.

Gratitude public art

This amazing exhibition of sculptures pays tribute to the sterling efforts of the NHS and key workers during the pandemic.  The 51 sculptures, each with their own unique take on the days of the pandemic, is on tour around the country.  The first stop was Chamberlain Square Birmingham.  Several artists came together to illustrate each sculpture with a particular theme.  The overall creative ambassador was Dame Zandra Rhodes and there were many different art organisations collaborating on this public art project.  Much of the information is on the Gratitude web site.

The sculptures from the Gratitude public art.
The sculptures from the Gratitude public art.

We had tickets for the August Bank Holiday.  Arriving in the square, the sculptures are placed towards the back.  They are arranged in rows and have a mirrored backdrop.  The challenge was to take photographs that no one else had taken.  I had previously looked on social media and seen all the different variations.  I enjoyed the story telling aspect on each Sculpture.  I want to say statues but that would not do justice to the explosion of art that is on view.  They are fun to wander around and see people’s reaction. 

Gratitude Public Art
Faces of Lockdown or “The Boris Johnson Sculpture”

The Faces of Lockdown referred to as the Boris Johnson statue is an immediate favourite although there are many others included Hans inspired by the Clap for the NHS and my personal favourite Creative Resilience which features a dancer, and her stare is penetrating, grabbing your attention.So here is my photographic record of Gratitude and I have put a caption with each picture to provide a background to the experience of seeing the sculptures. All pictures were taken with my Fujifilm x100v

If you found this post interesting then please visit my account of In Memoriam by Luke Jerram which was exhibited near to Aston Hall

For more information about Gratitude please visit the following pages. There are several websites includint the official Web site, Wild in Art and NHS charities together.

Gratitude public art
There is genuine excitement and interest in the stories behind each sculpture.