Quick Step to Recovery (Part 1)

Ipswich Hospital, 2004
Commissioned by The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust

The brief
Paul was asked to design a sculpture for a courtyard in the hospital, a large and awkward space between the hospital buildings that needed improvement.

The design
While Paul spent time in the hospital surveying the site, the idea of ballroom dancers came from watching the activity in the corridors around him. There was a sort of organised bustle constantly flowing past. The theme of dancers also felt appropriate to the hospital as a celebration of the human body. It was also a theme which would appeal to people across the generations drawing them in on different levels. Paul sees the dancers both as a tribute to and a gentle satire of the world of ballroom. Other people revel in the glamour and recall memories of their own dancing days. (Either way the subsequent success of TV’s “Strictly Come Dancing” was proof that he was onto a feel good theme).

The design of the Dancers also solved the problem of the shape of the courtyard. Paul used two pairs of figures to set up a flow of movement across the courtyard and draws attention away from the awkward space.

As the hospital operates 24/7 Paul needed to consider how the sculpture would function at night. He included real night lighting and a mock chandelier suspended from the wall. Night or day the performance would continue in the courtyard ballroom.

The consultation:
The hospital is a serious and sometimes frightening place for people so it was vital that they felt the sculpture was an appropriate and positive addition. Paul proposed that rather than shying away from the light hearted this was precisely the place that could benefit from humour, offering patients and staff a moment of light relief. The NHS Trust consulted with the Arts for health group, staff, patients and the visitors patient forum and the design was approved.