Touch a Flower, Talk to Me
Touch a Flower, Talk to Me is an interactive textile arts project commissioned by the Arts Charity within Cardiff and Vale University Hospital Board (CVUHB) to support the transfer of services from Rookwood Hospital to University Hospital Llandough.
I worked with patients and staff at Rookwood Hospital’s Specialist Neuro-rehabilitation ward and involved Year 6 pupils from Peter Lea Primary School. After consultations with the Occupational therapy team, I designed and led creative activities for staff and patients to create a wall hanging for the day room and an interactive flower display.
Pupils linked the handmade elements to touch capacitance sensors to make displays that visitors could touch - releasing audios of staff talking about their roles and pupils’ voices, poetry, and song. The hospital porters contributed by recording the birdsong at 5am in the hospital grounds!
A celebratory exhibition took place at Plaza, University Hospital Llandough in September 2019.
Touch a Flower, Talk to Me at Plaza, University Hospital, Llandough
interactive flowers in painted pots
Transcripts of audio recordings in a pamphlet. A hardback book of project rests on a chair
staff working in the dayroom making flower display
exhibition opening at Plaza, University Hospital Llandough
flowers in painted crates on wall
listen to staff talk about their NHS roles
visitors to the exhibition listen to the audios
visitors to the exhibition talk to Marion
Marion describes the processes to make the wallhanging
visitors to the exhibition
visitors test the displays
“You’ve done something really special for a lot of people.”
— Anya, participant
“I really enjoyed the visual colour therapy of the work. When I saw how it was put together, I really appreciated the collaborative work which went into creating it…it felt powerful to hear voices I may not otherwise have encountered, such as the hospital porter. Listening to the birdsong was magical!”
— Lisa, Cardiff
“Feeling sad - saw this display and it made us smile. Thank you.”
Touch a Flower,
Talk to Me
(3 minutes)
An introduction to the project.
With Dr. Haider (Registrar), Amy Parfitt (Speech and Language therapist) and pupils from Peter Lea Primary School. The exhibition took place in September 2019. Over 1000 visitors saw it!
A very innovative and person-centred approach to filling the long and lonely hours facing the patient on the ward.
— C. Lige
Visitor’s comment, 2019