Today, CW+, the charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, is delighted to announce that it has appointed London based multi-disciplinary artist Ejatu Shaw as its new Photographer in Residence at West Middlesex University Hospital (WMUH). Ejatu will photograph staff over the summer months to capture and celebrate the workforce at the hospital site.
Ejatu uses both analogue and digital photography to produce unique, impactful and emotive imagery, and for this commission, she will be taking a mix of photographs, shadowing staff members whilst they work, as well as posed group shots using a device where the individual being photographed presses a button to capture the shot when they are ready. This will create dynamic and playful imagery that will be a unique and positive memory for staff members to be part of.
The photographs will form part of a wider exhibition which hospital charity CW+ is developing and curating to mark the rich heritage of WMUH as part of the hospital’s 100-year celebration funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The display will become a permanent feature in the hospital’s entrance, and along with Ejatu’s photographs, will reflect key moments of the hospital’s past, drawings and future plans.
Reflecting on her appointment on her first day of residency, Ejatu said: “I’m excited to be the Photographer in Residence at WMUH, I’ve had a fantastic first day and met some wonderful members of staff. It’s been a pleasure to photograph them as well as having them photograph themselves through the practice of self-portraiture. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to the rest of my residency!”.
Trystan Hawkins, Arts Director at CW+, says: “We are thrilled to have Ejatu on board as our Photographer in Residence. Ejatu is an incredibly talented photographer and will be working with groups of staff across our WMUH site to acknowledge our dedicated workforce who keep the hospital running day to day. The photographs will form part of our Heritage Exhibition to celebrate 100 years of the hospital and will rightly be preserved as a historical resource as part of this new exhibition”.
This commission is the newest in a long line of hospital art and design projects as part of the CW+ award-winning Arts in Health programme, which aims to create a healing environment for patients visiting the Trust’s hospitals.
The 100 Years heritage exhibition will be unveiled this summer, with Bristol-based exhibition designers Smith and Jones working with CW+ to develop the concepts for the design and capture a snapshot of the fascinating stories, developments, and achievements of this community spirited hospital over the past 100 years.
