#ScarfUp and keep out the cold is the message from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s official charity CW+ and a group of contemporary artists, who are turning their hand to scarf design this autumn. As we approach the colder winter months and a second wave of COVID-19, nine renowned artists are designing scarves to help patients with respiratory illnesses prevent COPD, asthma, and COVID-19-related attacks.
Michel Landy photo Ben Westoby
#ScarfUp is aimed at patients suffering from COPD, asthma and COVID-19, who are particularly vulnerable to further respiratory illness in the colder weather. Research indicates that mouth and nose coverings may be helpful in preventing attacks, as scarves warm up the air during inhalation – now people with these diseases are being offered unique scarves to keep cold air at bay.
The artists have been invited by CW+ to create and donate unique scarf patterns reflecting their personal artistic styles, which will then be translated into a knitting or crochet pattern for members of the local community to download for free on the CW+ website. Volunteer community knitters will then make and donate these scarves to the hospital so that patients can receive them when returning for follow-up appointments.
Supermundane-Hope
“As we head into winter, it is important that patients with asthma and COPD, as well as those recovering from COVID-19, are able to protect themselves from cold air and respiratory illnesses. Thanks to these artists and our volunteer knitters, we hope that this initiative will support our patients over the winter and reduce the number of exacerbations.”
said Gary Davies, Medical Director at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
Scarves crafted for #ScarfUp will not replace obligatory face coverings worn to help protect people from catching Coronavirus, but should be used in addition to face masks.
Currently, nine artists have designed scarf patterns for the #ScarfUp project: A Space Between, Annie Morris, Bryony Phipps-Wardle, Caragh Thuring, Charlotte Cranidge, Denzil Forrester, Michael Landy, Supermundane, and Victoria Delphine Moore.
The CW+ #ScarfUp project is inspired by the Asthma UK #Scarfie campaign, which encourages asthmatics to wear scarves around their mouths and noses to help prevent asthma attacks
It’s a bit tatters Michael Landy
About CW+
CW+ is the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust including its hospitals and clinics. The charity’s generous supporters and partners enable it to:
- Build and enhance clinical facilities to create an outstanding healing environment for patients and staff
- Deliver a unique art and design programme to transform the experience and wellbeing of our patients
- Invest in health innovation to deliver exceptional patient care
About the Artists
A Space Between is the product and collective name of Emily Halban, Fardokht Sharifi-Yazdi and Tianna Moquette Dagher. A Space Between offers creative engagement workshops for hospitals and community sites. Their communal art interventions are thoughtfully considered, making involvement accessible to all. The team collaborate with a range of artists and are regular partners in the CW+ Arts for All programme.
Annie Morris is a London-based (b. 1978) multi-disciplinary artist. Her practice encompasses sculpture, tapestry, painting and drawing. Morris utilises both personal experience together with the history of art, to create works that weave between abstraction and representation—simultaneously authoritative and imaginative. Recent exhibitions include: Timothy Taylor 16×34, New York, 2019; ProjectB Gallery, Milan, 2018; Astrup Fearnley Museum, Oslo, 2018; Victoria Miro, London, 2018.
Bryony Phipps-Wardle is a designer, maker and researcher working in knit. Phipps-Wardle graduated the Royal College of Art in 2019; her developed methodology centres around the traceability of materials and responsible design and making. Traditional knit techniques are re-interpreted using a combination of hand and machine processes to create knitwear for a unisex market. Her practice has a strong material narrative and is interested in lesser told stories. @pw.bryony
Charlotte Cranidge holds a BA in Painting, and practises in printmaking. As a regular partner with the CW+ Arts for All programme, she facilitates artistic workshops at West Middlesex University Hospital. These sessions aim to celebrate creativity and support the wellbeing and recovery of older adult patients. Beyond her role with CW+, Cranidge has worked with Boston Manor House, Dulwich Picture Gallery and Orleans House Gallery.
Caragh Thuring was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1972, but grew up in UK and has lived and worked in London and Scotland since graduating Nottingham Trent University in 1995. Thuring has exhibited internationally and in many solo and group shows. Recent solo exhibitions include: Luisa Strina Gallery, São Paulo, 2019/20; Corbett vs Dempsey, Chicago 2019; Thomas Dane Gallery, London 2016/17 and Chisenhale Gallery, London, 2014/15.
Born in Grenada in 1956, Denzil Forrester moved to London in 1967. Forrester’s works immortalise the dynamic energy of the London reggae and dub nightclub scene during the early 1980s. The artist’s expressive depictions of dance halls, clubs and of carnival, capture the energy and rhythm of crowds. Flashes of vivid colour, gestural brushstrokes and frenetic compositions characterise his work. Forrester’s works have been exhibited internationally at venues including The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Tate Britain, London; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, among many others.
Michael Landy (b. 1963) lives and works in London. Landy studied at Goldsmiths in the late 1980s, and exhibited at the historic Freeze exhibition at London’s docklands in 1988. In many of his earliest works, Landy presented a satirical view on the political and social climate of Britain. A concern with the attribution of value and ownership remain central to his practice, which spans large-scale and sometimes temporal and interactive works, to intricately detailed works on paper. Landy’s works are held in public institutions internationally, including the Tate Collection, London; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Rob Lowe (also known as Supermundane) is an artist living and working in London. His work employs Emotional Geometry and Melancholic Humanism along with humour and poetry. He has been published and exhibited worldwide with permanent installations in Leeds train station and Great Ormond Street. He is the author of Lines Are Human, a book looking at how we define our space in the world through line.
Victoria Delphine Moore is a surface pattern designer and illustrator, selling printed fabric to leading retailers across the high street, including Zara, Topshop, and Urban Outfitters. Most recently, she has been focusing on illustration practices and has been working on commissions for card designs. These designs range from illustrative florals to architectural landmarks and have been utilising calligraphy as an enhancing accompaniment.
