Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006-09

Anecdotal Evidence — Stories for the Lift Lobby

Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006-09

Commissioned by The Archie Foundation for the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, 2008–09

As part of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.

For Anecdotal Evidence, we invited children and staff to share doodles of their favourite things. We began with drawing workshops that explored the idea of jigsaw puzzles—how pieces fit together to form stories. Workshops were held with patients and staff at the hospital, and with pupils from Glaitness Primary School in Orkney.

Back in the studio, we developed these sketches into small paintings, each one inspired by the participants’ drawings. The paintings were arranged into themed groups, each becoming a visual story. Every image was then photographed and printed onto polycarbonate, making the finished artworks vibrant, durable, and perfectly suited to the hospital environment.

A collage of three colorful, abstract artwork pieces assembled vertically. The top piece depicts a black outline of a leafy plant on a pink and green background. The middle piece features curved, flowing stripes in red, yellow, and purple hues. The bottom piece portrays a stylized, cartoonish green snake with a red tongue on a blue background, with part of the snake's body coiled.
A collage of four paintings depicting a tree with green background, a giraffe head, a tree trunk, and a yellow background.
Collection of four paintings featuring a snake, an abstract pink giraffe on a green background, leaves on a yellow background, and a small, circular and patterned artwork.
A vertical collage of abstract artwork including a red flower, a pink shape, a swirling red and yellow line, a yellow drawing with green scribbles, and a red outline of a person's legs and feet wearing a patterned skirt and high heels.
Colorful drawing of an ice cream cone with three scoops in different colors and a cartoon figure to the left. The word 'Ice' is written in red cursive.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARTworks Commissions 2006–09, our aim was to create a series of large, colourful, and playful visual poems to amuse and distract children as they exited the lift and made their way to their appointments.