The Imperial Health Charity Arts Team worked in collaboration with graphic designers Sable & Hawks and the renal dialysis staff to create this unique installation.
Following research into The Vineyard Nursery, a pioneering nursery situated in Hammersmith in the 18th Century on the site where Olympia London Exhibition Halls now stand, the designers asked illustrator Rose Darling to create bespoke drawings and paintings which were then digitised and turned into vinyl wallpaper. A number of Rose’s original works and digital prints are also on display in the corridors.
In around 1760, gardeners Thomas Faulkner and Lewis Kennedy established a nursery which was widely considered to be the first in the world. They travelled extensively and collaborated with foreign botanists to introduce a number of exotic plant species to the UK that we now consider commonplace. Plants such as fuchsias, magnolias, dahlias and the first China rose were imported and cultivated here - more surprisingly, at one point they also produced a large amount of Burgundy wine on the site, hence the name.
By bringing elements of the natural world into the healthcare environment, the project aimed to create a calming atmosphere as well as celebrate the rich history of Hammersmith and Fulham.
