Hello there followers - I've spent a year documenting the NHS based out of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
This is for those who might be interested in an excursion because you like my style of photography or if you just want a night out because you can...
I'd love to see those people I already know and would be honoured to meet new faces who I've followed/faved/spoken to over the years I've spent on Flickr. I know some of you are already planning to come which is wonderful, wonderful news.
Monday 15 October: 6:00pm - 7:30pm. You will need to book a space for this event though so please click the link at the end of this post.
There are some incredibly surreal images in this exhibition and what followed these was the discovery of some fascinating stories and statistics. I care passionately about the NHS. If this helps people to understand what a complex machine it really is, then it will equip them to have a more informed opinion regarding the state of the NHS and where they want it to go over the next 70 years.
Under The Skin.
Addenbrooke's Board Room, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, CB2 0QQ
Visit the exhibition and hear the artist in conversation about the work. Richard says, "I want to look at the hospital as-is. Not what it aspires to be, nor what the media sometimes portrays it to be. I want to be objective in helping people understand the hospital in greater depth in terms of how it works and who works in it. With extra knowledge comes the increased ability/impetus to hold conversations, which in turn can help to create informed opinion as to where the NHS should or could go in the next 70 years of its life."
2018 is the 70th anniversary of the NHS - and at no time in its history has it been under such pressure. Recent figures suggest 85% of people think the NHS is in crisis and 60% would be prepared to pay more in taxes to support the service. However, public understanding of how the health service works is limited, the NHS is complicated and there is more to it than doctors and nurses.
Over the past year, architectural photographer Richard Fraser has set out to look under the skin of the NHS at his local hospital Addenbrooke's, seeking out hidden corners and unseen aspects of care. Looking at what makes the hospital work, and keep working when experiencing unprecedented pressure.
This exhibition explores the places and spaces of the hospital as an 'abstract'; devoid of the people that serve it, the photographs are nevertheless filled with hints and scraps of evidence of what people are trying to achieve through 24 hour healthcare delivery, whatever that may hold - joy, pain, loss. At all times, the project aims to highlight how NHS staff try to help these people and their loved ones along their path through life; always there, regardless of wealth or social background.
www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/events/under-skin-artists-talk
Tags: Under the Skin NHS NHS at 70 exhibition Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2018 photography surreal hospital clinical
© All Rights Reserved
Opening tonight (15th October 2018).
This exhibition is the result of a year spent exploring the unseen side of Cambridge University Hospitals creating a set of interesting, honest images to capture a sense of the NHS today in its 70th year.
Through images and stories, the aim is to help people to understand the grand interlocking that takes place on a 24-hour basis to maintain the best possible care for a diverse community. Huge cogs make the machine that is this hospital. This project shows just some of these cogs. It looks under the skin of the NHS; as demands have changed and the site has grown, time has created a tapestry of wards, departments, offices and stores across the Addenbrooke’s site. This project seeks to open up some of the lesser-seen wonderful stories and unique quirks which make the hospital what it is, focusing on areas away from the wards.
The images set out to ask questions - what, where, when, who, why and how? My hope is to create a platform for dialogue between all stakeholders of the NHS.
I care passionately about the NHS and I want to look at the hospital as an example of the current look of the NHS as-is. Not what it aspires to be, nor what the media sometimes portrays it to be. I want to be objective in helping people understand the hospital in greater depth in terms of how it works and who works in it. With extra knowledge comes the increased ability/impetus to hold conversations, which in turn can help to create informed opinion as to where the NHS should or could go in the next 70 years of its life.
2018 is the 70th anniversary of the NHS - and at no time in its history has it been under such pressure. Recent figures suggest 85% of people think the NHS is in crisis and 60% would be prepared to pay more in taxes to support the service. However, public understanding of how the health service works is limited, the NHS is complicated and there is more to it than doctors and nurses.
Over the past year, architectural photographer Richard Fraser has set out to look under the skin of the NHS at his local hospital Addenbrooke's, seeking out hidden corners and unseen aspects of care. Looking at what makes the hospital work, and keep working when experiencing unprecedented pressure.
This exhibition explores the places and spaces of the hospital as an 'abstract'; devoid of the people that serve it, the photographs are nevertheless filled with hints and scraps of evidence of what people are trying to achieve through 24 hour healthcare delivery, whatever that may hold - joy, pain, loss. At all times, the project aims to highlight how NHS staff try to help these people and their loved ones along their path through life; always there, regardless of wealth or social background.
Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, CB2 0QQ
www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/events/under-skin-artists-talk
Tags: Under the Skin NHS at 70 NHS is 70 70 NHS years celebration photography exhibition Cambridge UK chimney Richard Fraser 2018 1948-2018
© All Rights Reserved