Press release: In Memoriam open-air art installation
In Memoriam open-air art installation presented at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, concluding its two-year tour of the UK to remember those lost in the pandemic & pay tribute to the NHS.
This June and July, Cambridge Biomedical Campus will be presenting a free art installation for the campus community, called In Memoriam, on The Green & The Gardens at the heart of the site.
In Memoriam, by artist Luke Jerram, is brought to the campus by Prologis UK, developer of the campus expansion, and the Arts team at Cambridge University Hospital Foundation Trust (CUH Arts).
Alongside the installation, a range of events are planned to bring the campus community together.
The Installation
In Memoriam is made from 120 flags which were created from NHS bed sheets and arranged to form a medical logo in white & NHS blue.
The installation remembers all those we have lost from the pandemic, as well as being a tribute to all the biomedical researchers and health & care workers who have gone above and beyond.
Presented in open-air locations across the country during the past two years, In Memoriam has allowed people to enter, contemplate and explore. The artwork is also a venue for events and over the course of the last two years has hosted choirs, dance troupes, poetry recitals, remembrance memorials and classical concerts.
Luke Jerram, artist of In Memoriam says: “The aim of this artwork was to act as a safe place for people to visit, contemplate and remember. It’s been humbling to see, hear and experience the vast array of different ways people and communities have used the project to grieve those lost, and pay thanks for those who have worked so hard throughout the pandemic”
The installation on The Green & The Gardens, situated between Royal Papworth Hospital and AstraZeneca, will be open from Thursday 16 June until Tuesday 12 July 2022 and will be the final presentation of In Memoriam.
Event Programme
In Memoriam will be the backdrop to a range of events aimed at bringing the Cambridge Biomedical Campus community to come together:
Monday 27 June – Friday 1 July, CUH Arts Festival
A range of free lunchtime activities will be provided by the CUH Arts team including creative writing with poet Hannah Jane Walker, an art-making workshop with artist Josh Bilton, and live music from Britten Sinfonia and The King’s Men.
Tuesday 12 July, 12pm-3pm, Campus Picnic
A free drop-in picnic will be held for campus employees, families and friends to attend.
Tuesday 12 July, 6pm, ‘The Dark Heals’ sound experience by Andrea Cockerton
In Memoriam will conclude with the launch of The Dark Heals, Andrea Cockerton’s year-long project with campus employees to produce an immersive musical experience to reflect the range of personal experiences through the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees will be able to listen to the magical music via headphones as a group experience. Following this launch performance, The Dark Heals will be released online for anyone anywhere in the world to stream and experience via their own personal audio device.
Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Cambridge Biomedical Campus has played an important role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it’s a fitting backdrop to use for the conclusion of the tour of In Memoriam.
The installation marks the completion of a 10-year commitment to public art across the Phase 1 Expansion Land at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and the start of Phase 2 located to the south of Dame Mary Archer Way. Prologis has committed to a £1.65 million package of public art and public realm – making it one of the largest investments of its kind to date, in the Cambridge region.
