QEII Hospital’s Multi Level Car Park artwork was revealed this month, taking pride of place on the eastern and western ends of the new structure.
The reveal has been weeks in the making with scaffolding coming down gradually to unveil the themed concept: The Leaves Speak. The Trees Remember.
Artist, Nathaniel Chapman is a proud Goenpul/Yuggera man from North Stradbroke Island and Brisbane City said the work reminds us how we are forever held by and cared for by Country.
“The work maps out the quiet order of how we gather, how we heal, and how we pass knowledge forward. The circles… are not just meeting points, they are markers of responsibility, care and kinship,” he said.
“The Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, and Emu Bush trees from Yagara country…have held our young ones through sickness, offered breath and rest from colds and soothed the sores that come from living upon our beautiful yet challenging lands.”
He said the work speaks of old ways that still live under the surface of our changing world, guiding hands, shaping who we are and what we know.
Nathaniel’s work was celebrated at a stakeholder event on Friday 25 September acknowledging its alignment with curatorial themes of place, healing and community which are all things the QEII Hospital community holds dear.
Executive Director of QEII Hospital, Rachel Phillips said creating a welcoming, culturally safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients is an important strategic priority in the Metro South Health First Nations Health Equity Strategy.
“This is the first artwork to be unveiled in our QEII Hospital Expansion and there will be several other First Nations artworks included to reinforce the message of cultural safety.”
Health Infrastructure Queensland, Senior Director Jackie Hawkins said art plays an important role in supporting the social, health, economic, and environmental benefits of infrastructure which in turn supports the wellbeing of our community.
“Nathaniel’s artwork is absolutely superb, and Damien from Built has worked in partnership with Blaklash and Nathaniel to guide the integration of the artwork with the product and the technicalities of construction.”
Arts in Health Program Strategic Lead with Children’s Heath Queensland, Lynne Seear and her team work with HIQ on several artwork integrations across construction in Queensland.
Through the Arts in Health program, artists are introduced as co-designers of health. Lynne said artwork is carefully developed to function as a bridge between beauty and cultural safety.
“Arts in Health helps us humanise environments that otherwise might heighten anxiety through telling stories and connecting explicitly and meaningfully to the communities the health sector serves.
“That tie to the community is a key feature of the projects we work on – particularly amplified here where we observe the pride the community feels in their health service and how this is reciprocated by the people who deliver care within it,” she said.
Metro South Health acknowledges the significant engagement across both the Multi-Level Car Park and the Clinical Services Building bringing the strategic priorities of cultural safety and inclusion to life including partners from:
- Health Infrastructure Queensland
- Built
- MACE
- eHealth
- Queensland Arts in Health Program
- MSH Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Directorate
- And a special welcome to local artist - Nathaniel Chapman and Blaklash.