Art and the environment

Wednesday 10 October 2012


Art and the environment

St Thomas’ Hospital is the site of artist Dryden Goodwin’s latest art project, titled Breathe.

Breathe is an animation that is projected on the roof of St Thomas’. It is visible from the hospital’s Fountain Garden, as well as Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.

Goodwin did over a thousand pencil drawings of his five-year-old son to create the animation, which shows his breathing moving between being regular and being laboured.

The project is linked to our EXHALE research programme, which is investigating the effect of air pollution on the lung health of primary school children in East London.

“Children are vulnerable to pollution because it seems to slow lung maturation during childhood,” says Professor Frank Kelly, who is leading the study funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London.

“The EXHALE study is important because it will help inform future traffic emissions policies.”

Breathe will be exhibited at dusk every night until Sunday 29 October. It is part of a suite of exhibitions presented by Invisible Dust, an organisation bringing together artists and scientists to examine issues around climate change, air pollution, and the environment.

Dryden Goodwin is known for his Linear portraits of Jubilee Line staff.

There is an associated discussion event at the Houses of Parliament, 2:00-4:00pm on Tues 16 October, with Dryden Goodwin, Professor Frank Kelly and Joan Walley, MP and Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.

This event is hosted by the Environmental Audit Committee and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

Last updated: March 2022

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