Caroline McCarthy
Light For Cicely, 2010
Web project and permanent photographic installation for the Cicely Saunders Institute, commissioned by King’s College London in association with the Contemporary Art Society.
Installation Dims. variable (unframed image sizes: A6, A5, A4);
Commissioned by King’s College London for the newly opened Cicely Saunders Institute, Light For Cicely was a direct response to the legacy of the late Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement.
People connected to Cicely Saunders were invited to send by email a photograph of a lamp illuminated in their home. Response came from all over the world, including Poland, Italy, Norway, Uganda, Pakistan, Ireland, India, the USA and Canada - as well as the UK.
Displayed throughout the new building, the lamps (68 in total) bring something of every contributor's home into the building, conveying all the different stylistic expressions of these individuals’ lives. The notion of ‘Home’ was central to Saunders’ concept of a suitable environment for those living with terminal illness, as antidote to the depersonalising effect of the institution.
A book containing all 68 photographs and accompanying texts by each contributor is available from the Cicely Saunders Institute.