Rebecca Salter - British abstract artist


Architecture
St George's Hospital, Tooting, London - Refurbishment of main entrance
In collaboration with architects, Gibberd
Calligraphy of Light
"For my inspiration as to how to transform the new main entrance into a special place, I turned to aspects of Japanese art and architecture which have influenced me since studying there earlier in my career. The most important spatial concept I wanted to introduce was an intuitive way of navigating using light and texture. I hope that anyone arriving at the perimeter of the site will no longer need to study a map for directions. Instead they will be swept through the new landscape and into the main entrance. Light and colour used in the garden are picked up and echoed in the interior. The natural focus behind the reception desk is a large artwork built into the curved wall and composed of strips of recycled glass lit with LED lights in changing colours. From there the eye is led along the corridor by what I have called a 'calligraphy of light' - strips of backlit glass set in bamboo panelling. At the front of the building (in the new lounge area), the focus is a delta-shaped piece in backlit glass which echoes the colours and shapes in the garden. The scheme has been conceived as a whole so that there is a consistency of colour and materials (where possible sustainable or recycled) which will give the new entrance an identity."