Alexandra has completed a number of murals across Cygnet already, most recently at Cygnet Kenney House.
Hannah Cooper, Cygnet’s Interior Fit Out Lead, explains the inspiration behind the murals, “When developing the interior design for Cygnet Hospital Kidsgrove we were influenced by the local ceramics industry. The two wards are named Burleigh and Crocus, with Crocus deriving from the iconic style of ceramic artist Clarice Cliff. Burleigh is named after the Burleigh Pottery Company.
“We wanted to bring these styles in to the design with a series of hand painted murals which were developed alongside artist Alex. We incorporated biophilic elements by painting house plants on the walls with pots which emulate the style of Burleigh and Clarice Cliff. Art is important to include within mental healthcare design, it softens the environment and creates pieces of interest, hand painted murals alongside wallpapers and pictures help to achieve this.”
In total Alex worked on ten murals across the two wards.
On Burleigh Ward, the first is a ‘Welcome to Burleigh’ mural which is located on the corridor after you enter the building through the main entrance. The design surrounding the text is inspired by Burleigh pottery, adding a feature to the space.
The second mural on the ground floor is chalkboard painted in the second dining room. This one was inspired by Burleigh pottery featuring a white and blue floral design, complimenting the ‘Welcome to Burleigh’ in the corridor.
Within the lounge area is a mural consisting of a trio of planters, again with the the pattern work on the pots inspired byBurleigh pottery.
Down one of the corridors a mural of ‘Daily Affirmations’ was painted, promoting positivity and complimenting the mural that was painted at Cygnet Kenney House. With this one adapting the
colours to suit the earthy theme of the pottery.
The final mural on the ground floor consists of a full wall of planters and hanging baskets. This adds a larger feature to the wall, and brightening the space.
On Crocus Ward, again a total of five murals were painted. A full leafy border was painted along the bottom of the walls within the sensory room, using subtle colour to create a calming atmopshere within the space.
Three of the murals on Crocus Ward were painted within the corridor space. One of these consists of a ‘Welcome to Crocus’ mural that can be seen as you come up from the stairs onto the first floor. These keep with the theme of Clarice Cliff’s pottery and adding a floral bed of crocus flowers below the text.
The other two murals within the corridor were a set of hanging baskets and a large planter. Inspiration was taken from Clarice Cliff’s crocus pottery design, which can be seen through the colour palette used and the crocus design on the planter.
The final mural on the first floor was a painted chalkboard in the dining area, allowing staff to write up the menu. To create a unique and contemporary take on the calkboard, a scallop edge was painted. Alongside this, a hanging basket and planter was added to compliment the existing murals within the corridor.
