Seven Oaks Hospital

In Winnipeg, Manitoba The Seven Oaks Hospital Foundation commissioned local artist Simon Hughes to create a custom mosaic as the finishing touch on a $7.8 million Access to Care hospital renovation. Seven Oaks Sunrise mosaic stretches 444 sq ft in the two-story glass atrium, providing a calm welcoming area for patients, visitors and staff. It uses 3/4″” Vitreous Glass, including a scattering of 14K gold leaf tiles to create a colorful bursting gradient. The artistic trees sit in front of a vibrant and dynamic background, with a lone owl sitting in the branches.

President and COO, Carrie Solmundson said during the unveiling in December 2012, “”The sunrise in Simon Hughes’ mosaic reflects the optimism at this hospital which is making great strides forward in putting patients first by connecting them with other health services and programs to get well and stay well.””

Simon Hughes artist statement:

The sun is one of the most ancient symbols for the positive in life and has been used in religious art throughout millennia. In psychoanalysis, it represents consciousness and is therefore a potent symbol for the work of the hospital. The practice of medicine is, at its core, the defense of consciousness against any number of threats and complications. The piece shows a glowing sun rising up over the horizon in a flowering of bright colour. My design incorporates the physical siting of the new atrium, in that the artwork’s image of a rising sun, situated as it will be on the east wall, effectively preserves the optimistic moment of daybreak for visitors to the space at any time. The light of the sunrise is broken up by the silhouettes of seven evenly spaced trees in the foreground. Trees, used historically as a symbol of rejuvenation, could also be interpreted here as the complications that can obstruct consciousness and, by extension, health. Their spindly shapes, however, are
ultimately overpowered by the glow of the sun and the life force that it represents. These trees, though created through the spontaneous drip technique mentioned earlier, are processed digitally into the blocky forms necessary for the mosaic.

Simon Hughes holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Manitoba and a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California. His art practice includes drawing, painting, film and video. You can see more examples of his work at simonhughes.ca

Photography by Darin Kachanoski