Stunning, backlit Nature Displays from leading British landscape photographer Charlie Waite have been installed in the new Adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, which officially opened this week.
Waite designed four, bespoke, large backlit images displaying panoramic landscape photography for the new ICU as part of a partnership between CW+ and Nature Works for Health, which creates Nature Photography Displays for hospitals to enhance the healing process of patients and the wellbeing of relatives and staff.
Known for his ‘painterly’ approach to using light and shade, with his photographs conveying a sense of serenity and calm, Waite has been working in close partnership with Roger Ulrich who is a leading light on biophilia (meaning ‘love of nature’) and art, focusing on people’s innate attraction to nature and natural processes. Waite’s large light-emitting Nature Displays aim to bring the beauty of the natural world into the hospital, offering a sense of calm and visual distraction to patients, relatives and staff.
Charlie Waite said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with the team at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, and I hope the new Nature Displays bring the outdoors in, encouraging a connection with nature, even for a moment, as patients and staff engage with them in the new ICU”.
This installation is part of our arts in health programme, which aims to create healing environments in both clinical and non-clinical spaces for our patients and staff, using art as a tool to improve wellbeing and provide a calming atmosphere.
Trystan Hawkins, Director of Patient Environment at CW+, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Charlie Waite and Nature Works for Health, and we are very grateful to him for the Nature Photography Displays which have now been installed in our expanded and redeveloped ICU. Art and the physical environment play an important role in patient, family and staff wellbeing. The beautiful backlit Nature Photography Displays create a connection with the outdoors, which we hope support patient and staff wellbeing.”
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