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Kay Goodridge |
Kay Goodridge was an artist in residence at Addenbrooke’s from October 2003 to September 2004, working one or two days a week.
Kay is predominantly a photographer, but has a growing interest in using the moving image in her work. |
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Archives |
The starting point for the residency was the hospital archives, with the aim of getting the archive materials and resources increasingly 'out of the basement' where they are housed and into the public domain.
Kay looked at hospital records dating from as far back as 1766, and photographs taken since the end of the 19th century, as a basis for her work. She also took many photographs around the hospital and, in particular, looked at the spaces in which hospital life takes place, rather than focusing on the people within these spaces.
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Theme |
An overall theme of ‘The Mundane and the Monumental’ emerged from the project. Kay Goodridge said:
"In the hospital, there are many routine tasks that must be performed day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out, at the same time, major life and death decisions are being made. It is often the monumental, life-changing tasks that take precedence over the less dramatic (mundane) day-to-day, repetitive events and routines. Whatever job is being performed, however small or insignificant it may seem, the job is important to the well being of all the people involved in the life of the hospital: staff, patients and visitors.
"Every day, people’s lives are being affected by the work of the hospital often in a dramatic way. Patients and their families are making and facing decisions about their lives and futures, staff are very much part of this process, helping them to come to terms with these often unexpected changes. This dynamic has been taking place since the hospital opened over two centuries ago, and it is from this that the title of the residency 'The Mundane and the Monumental' evolved."
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Work Produced |
Kay brought the two ideas of the Mundane and the Monumental together by superimposing both still and moving images, using images from the archives and taking new ones. The photographs, videos and slides produced became part of the hospital archives at the end of the residency.
All archive materials and resources are accessible to the public and hospital staff, by appointment with the Hospital Archive.
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Exhibition |
In April 2004, there was an exhibition of work generated from the residency in the hospital. This was based on the theme of “The Mundane and the Monumental” and incorporated both still images and video. The still images are available for viewing on the Outpatients corridor, level 3.
From May 2004, we held a series of workshops in photography, visual arts, drama and creative writing, which explored the archives and addressed some of the issues brought up in the exhibition.
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Funding |
Funding for the residency came from Awards For All and East of England Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
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