During the pandemic and subsequent lock-downs, the NHS was (and still is) constantly in my thoughts. As a painter, this prompted me to produce a new body of work, the Lock-Down Series, reflecting my own feelings and experience of that time.
Recently, I was thrilled that Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge accepted two pieces from the series into their permanent art collection. I have a strong personal connection with Addenbrooke’s, so it’s good to have an opportunity to give something back to the doctors and nurses who’ve taken such good care of my family in the past, often under such difficult and demanding circumstances.
At the beginning of the pandemic, no-one anywhere was sure what was happening. PPE turned into masks of invisibility. This painting explores the strangeness and confusion, and the courage, which prevailed at that time.
Research into and production of anti-Covid vaccines relied on intense working methods and huge commitment. I imagined the relentless processes and practices required in that environment, to achieve the desired result.
