A giant rhinoceros picks its way across Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Its rump bears an unexpected resemblance to the Royal Albert Hall while its horn matches the gothic spire of the Albert Memorial. Nearby, a fox scampers along another wall, its flanks comprising Battersea Power Station and Stamford Bridge.
These architectural beasts are the work of Andy Council (@AndyCouncil), whose London-centric art we've featured before. His latest murals decorate a cinema for patients and their families, and depict landmarks within around a mile of the hospital. The commissions were funded by CW+, a charity that improves patient wellbeing.
Andy tells us about his new creations.
"On one side of the cinema there are two rhinos — a mother and baby. These were chosen as they have a lot of strength, but due to their endangered status they have a vulnerability to them also. I wanted to depict this more vulnerable, caring side which a mother rhino with her baby represents. The spiky armoured look of the beasts also fitted in with the buildings we had chosen."
"On the other side of the cinema is a fox. I chose this animal as I spotted one while out walking in Brompton Cemetery and thought it would be the perfect urban animal to use. It is made up of the cemetery and also of Stamford Bridge which it is next to. Also featured are places of interest not too far away from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital such as Chelsea Harbour, Earls Court and Battersea."
The art work can be freely viewed by anyone visiting Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
"I wanted to create bright, colourful, interesting artworks which patients, staff and visitors could spend time enjoying and seeing which landmarks they could spot,” says Andy. How many can you see?
