Peter McDonald
Constellations for The Royal London Hospital 2016
Matt c-type print reverse mounted on aluminium
Acute Critical Care Unit corridor, Floor 4, Royal London Hospital
Peter McDonald, who lives between London and Tokyo, draws on everyday life to create paintings that tell a collective story. He employs a unique graphic language that depicts recognisable vignettes which highlight the joy of human experience. His paintings are populated by quirky figures—at the hairdressers, in the playground, on the football pitch, around a boardroom table, in the classroom, at a bank of monitors, in a stretch limo, as well as engaging in other activities that reflect the contemporary world of work and leisure. Some scenarios extend to more exotic activities—surfing, skiing, or bidding in an auction—while a few, such as riding in a spaceship or taking off in a rocket, are even more fanciful.
The enlarged, irregularly-shaped heads of these characters represent the psychological space—a zone of dreams, ideas, concerns and desires—that each of us, especially in a hospital setting, carries with us.
About the Artist
Peter McDonald was born in Tokyo in 1973. He studied at Central Saint Martins School and graduated from the Royal Academy Schools in 2000. In 2008 he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize and in 2011-12 completed a year-long residency and at the 21st Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa, Japan. McDonald was commissioned by Art on the Underground to produce a large scale public installation at Southwark Station. Articles about the artist’s work have appeared in The Observer and Time Out.
This artwork has been commissioned by Vital Arts and generously funded by Barts Charity for the ACCU department for Barts Health NHS Trust
Editions Available
As part of his commission for the Royal London Hospital, Peter McDonald kindly created two limited edition prints. Proceeds from the sale of this print will support Care Workers Charity and the Vital Arts programme.
