Saad Qureshi
Gift, 2023
Mixed media, including Celotex, Idenden, wood, brick dust in painted mild steel vitrine
180 x 210 x 100 cm
Entrance Lobby to the Renal Unit of the Royal London Hospital
This artwork by Saad Qureshi was commissioned to commemorate Organ Donation.
The project emerged from a request by the Organ Donation Committee at Barts Health NHS Trust for a permanent artwork that would celebrate donors, as well as raise awareness of Organ Donation.
Memory - and how we process experience - is a central theme for the artist, Saad Qureshi. As part of the development of the work, Qureshi spent time with patients, donors and their loved ones, asking them to share significant moments in the lives of donors and organ recipients. The artist has used many of the themes of these stories as inspiration for his artwork, including the family home, Christmas celebrations, holiday huts, stairs, walking paths, a bridge, benches, the moon, hills, a pebble beach, religious buildings, a wind turbine and the idea of one’s hometown. The artist seeks to give form to the narratives which create meaning in our lives. This artwork invites repeat viewing and takes time to unfold.
It is hoped that the artwork will provide a space of solace for bereaved families whose loved ones have donated organs—as well as a space for others to consider organ donation, or to express gratitude as organ recipients. The artwork is accessible from within the building and is also outward facing, and therefore visible day and night.
About the artist
Saad Qureshi received an MFA in Painting from The Slade School of Fine Art, London, in 2010. His work has been exhibited in several international venues including, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield; Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi; Aicon Gallery, New York; I'Institut des Cultures d'Islam, Paris; Museum Arnhem, Netherlands; Kunsthall 3,14, Bergen; Drawing Room, London; and White Project Gallery, Paris. His work is held in public art collections in Dubai, Beijing, New Delhi, Boston, Quatar and California, and in 2021 he was shortlisted for the SkyArts LANDMARKS public art commission.
If you want to be an organ donor after you die, it's important you talk to your loved ones and make sure they understand and support your organ donation decision. You can register your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision/
This project was generously funded by Barts Charity
