Work of art remembers Covid patients and hung at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton

‘Dream over Feeling’, by artist Joe Laffan, takes knitted hearts sent from across the county to the hospitals that make up University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust during the pandemic – made up of Worthing Hospital, Southlands Hospital in Shoreham, St Richard's Hospital in Chichester and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

The knitted hearts came from the Shared Hearts project, which saw handmade hearts – donated by the public – given to a patient dying with Covid. A matching heart would be given to a relative unable to be at the bedside.

Joe Laffan, an arts graduate who works at the Trust as a faculty administrator for medicine, said: “I was asked by onward arts if I would create a piece of art from the hundreds of knitted hearts they had left over from the project.

“I had about 400 hearts to use and I wanted to create something that would commemorate all those people who have been lost to Covid but also all those left behind after loss – families and friends, healthcare staff who felt helpless as people died.”

Joe's artwork, commissioned and framed by the Trust's arts programme Onward Arts, was funded by the Trusts’ BSUH charity and hangs in reception of the Audrey Emerton Building, the education centre at The Royal Sussex County Hospital.

The subject of the artwork is a human eye and part of a face, which was actually modelled on one of Joe’s clinical colleagues. The technique he used is known as ‘latch hooking’, and saw Joe individually hand-stich 125,000 yarns.

The artist added: “I finished it in October this year. It took me four months of working four hours every night and then eight hours on a Saturday and Sunday.

“The eye and the mask were created using the same technique and in all, 46 different colours of wool were used. A lot of wool.

“I am really happy with the piece. I saw so many doctors and nurses suffering throughout this pandemic. It was my obsession to finish the piece and I see it as a memorial and tribute to all of the dedicated work of our NHS staff and for all the lives lost and people impacted by this terrible disease.”

Onward Arts project manager, Erin Burns, said: “The piece has truly brightened up the reception at the building, and will continue to be an emotional reminder to everyone who visits of an incredibly difficult year. I want to thank Joe, the BSUH charity for funding the project and to the wonderful local people who donated the hearts which made this possible.”

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