Our Common Humanity by artist Juli Bolaños-Durman on permanent display at The Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Marking the World Mental Health Day on the 10th of October 2023, Our Common Humanity by artist Juli Bolaños-Durman was installed in the reception at The Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The work commissioned by NHS Lothian Charity for The Royal Edinburgh Hospital has been on temporary loan to the Scottish Parliament whilst the hospital underwent refurbishment.
Our Common Humanity consists of 39 sculptural objects created using discarded glass donated by the hospital community. The glass is placed within a vitrine designed and crafted in collaboration with GRAS that incorporates lighting to produce dynamic, overlapping shadows. Developed through a series of workshops with the hospital’s psychiatric patients, the installation embodies ideas of community, interaction and healing through the collation of disparate glass elements that were embellished by hand.
Juli Bolaños-Durman about the ethos behind the installation: “I want the work to be testimony to our ever-changing journey: powered by trials and errors, vulnerability, and imperfection. Our daily interactions matter and each one of us has the power to make life better; with the support of the people around us and the community we foster.”
Read more about the project via Juli Bolaños-Durman’s website
Project team:
Architect: Jan Hájek
Fabrication: Derek Baxter
Photography: Laura Meek