Introducing ‘NHS Swimmers’ by Catherine Yass, commissioned by Great Western Developments and curated by Lacuna for Paddington Square:
“Ten NHS workers are swimming underwater, overhead down Tanner Lane. They flow down this narrow road between Saint Mary’s Hospital and Renzo Piano Studio’s new office building, reflecting the stream of people moving through to catch trains and get to work. Photographed on large format sheet film, over 200 images are overlaid onto blue negatives to create a sense of movement and a deep blue space that leaves us floating down the street between water and sky. The Swimmers were selected to correspond to the diversity, gender and age of the NHS workers in Saint Mary’s. Photographed between Covid restrictions, freedom of movement was a fabulous thing, and the break from the pressure of working in the hospital felt liberating. Up on the high wall the NHS workers appear to be flying as well as swimming, hovering over our heads like angels caring for the people below.” Catherine Yass
In celebration of and in homage to NHS workers, the large-scale collaborative photographic installation takes over a 24 metre long wall of neighbouring St Mary’s Hospital, on Tanner Lane. The image is constructed from over 200 photographs of ten NHS workers swimming underwater to make up a seamless whole. Partly inspired by Giotto’s angels in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, the Swimmers were selected from an open call with Imperial College Healthcare Charity representing the rich diversity of Saint Mary’s Hospital staff.
The participants were photographed in late 2021 in a glass-sided custom-built pool in South London. The accomplished visual effect represents the artist’s vision of dynamic human movements, set against a deep blue backdrop. This is achieved using a technique of overlaying a blue negative onto a positive image, recalling the ‘Chartes blue’, a blue stained-glass technique developed for church windows in 12th Century France.
“Ten NHS workers are swimming underwater, overhead down Tanner Lane. They flow down this narrow road between Saint Mary’s Hospital and Renzo Piano Studio’s new office building, reflecting the stream of people moving through to catch trains and get to work. Photographed on large format sheet film, over 200 images are overlaid onto blue negatives to create a sense of movement and a deep blue space that leaves us floating down the street between water and sky. The Swimmers were selected to correspond to the diversity, gender and age of the NHS workers in Saint Mary’s. Photographed between Covid restrictions, freedom of movement was a fabulous thing, and the break from the pressure of working in the hospital felt liberating. Up on the high wall the NHS workers appear to be flying as well as swimming, hovering over our heads like angels caring for the people below.” Catherine Yass
In celebration of and in homage to NHS workers, the large-scale collaborative photographic installation takes over a 24 metre long wall of neighbouring St Mary’s Hospital, on Tanner Lane. The image is constructed from over 200 photographs of ten NHS workers swimming underwater to make up a seamless whole. Partly inspired by Giotto’s angels in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy, the Swimmers were selected from an open call with Imperial College Healthcare Charity representing the rich diversity of Saint Mary’s Hospital staff.
The participants were photographed in late 2021 in a glass-sided custom-built pool in South London. The accomplished visual effect represents the artist’s vision of dynamic human movements, set against a deep blue backdrop. This is achieved using a technique of overlaying a blue negative onto a positive image, recalling the ‘Chartes blue’, a blue stained-glass technique developed for church windows in 12th Century France.
October 10, 2024
