Cloudlands Year 3 comes to a magical close at Temple Street and CUH

Over the past nine months, artists Rachel Tynan and Eszter Némethi have been collaborating with teenagers at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, and Cork University Hospital respectively, on Helium’s Cloudlands project. Cloudlands came to a close in June with a showcase of two unique works at the participating hospitals.

The Titans at Temple Street

Artist Rachel Tynan has been Cloudlands artist in residence at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital since 2012. Hospital staff, participants, funders and friends visited Temple Street on 19th June to hear about this year’s work on the Cloudlands project and see the Titans, an interactive installation developed by participants with Rachel.

This installation is formed through a beautiful family of wooden figures…the Titans. As you move the wooden Titans a variety of stories will be revealed, from a Star Lady who heals, to a transforming cheeky Faun. Open the Titans to discover another world that sheds light on the characters and their lives.

We are delighted that the Titans will reach new audiences when the installation travels to art venues in 2016 as part of our Arts Council Touring and Dissemination of Work Award.

Radio/Silence at CUH

Helium’s Cloudlands project has been running in Cork University Hospital since November 2014. Artist Eszter Némethi was resident on the paediatric ward where she developed compelling stories and games with participants. On 8th June, an interactive radio game called Radio/Silence, was broadcast on CUH Radio, 102fm. Listeners tuned into the Johnny and Pies Show where it was business as usual until a mysterious virus started to sweep through the hospital. In what seems like the spread of nonsense, silence started to take over the hospital. Reality and fiction became entwined. Even the radio started to lose signal. Listeners were invited to dial a freephone number to take control of the story and make decisions that could save the world

Eszter, known for her collaborative performance making, worked with teenagers over 15 weeks to develop stories about alternate realities within the hospital. The radio game layers a new reality onto the everyday life of the hospital and invites listeners to re-imagine what they see around them. For Helium, this is the essence of what the Cloudlands project is about – by opening up creative worlds where anything can happen and with no limitations, teenagers, many of whom are used to lengthy stays in hospital, are placed in control. Added to that the artist’s fascination with the hospital as a place to make work and a perfect partnership is born.

The broadcast in CUH gave Helium the opportunity to pilot the work and Eszter and the team are now further developing Radio/Silence into a touring piece for hospitals as part of our 2016 Arts Council touring award.

Cloudlands Year 3 is funded by The Arts Council, BNP Paribas Foundation Smart Start Programme, Cork City Council Arts Office, HSE South, and the Health Services Credit Union.