Forever Flowers Commission: sunflowers at the castle

“I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower…wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life”
 – Helen Mirren 

​I'm proud to have worked with my partner Sion Llwyd and City Hospice, Cardiff to design the display of metal sunflowers for the hospice’s unique Forever Flowers event in Cardiff Castle.
 
Inspired by the ongoing challenges around bereavement, and the charity’s wish to support people with their grief, City Hospice says their choice of sunflower symbolises for many, “positivity, admiration, loyalty and devotion”.
 
Tasked with designing an eye-catching layout for the flowers to be displayed in the grounds of the castle, we wanted our design to be joyful and memorable – a representation of a bright and happy life while at the same time communicating the message behind the campaign, which is one of remembrance, and celebration of those lost to cancer.
 
It was such an honour to work with this wonderful organisation, who enable their patients to live their lives to the fullest for as long as possible. City Hospice said:
​“We cannot thank Katherine and Sion enough for producing such a powerful display. The display symbolises everything about our Forever Flower campaign and we were so excited to work with a local artist.”
 
City Hospice and I were lucky enough to win Cardiff Life awards this year. Read more about the event here.

You can read more on City Hospice's website here, but below is the full text:

We asked Katherine why she’s supporting City Hospice:
“City Hospice is a wonderful charity enabling their patients to live their lives to the fullest for as long as possible. Their work is incredibly inspiring and helps so many people. A big part of what I try and do is collaborate with charities, and like-minded organisations, so that my artwork is helping give back too”.

It’s been great working collaboratively on this as a result of us both winning awards at Cardiff Life Awards 2022. We asked Katherine about her win, “Well, what a night! I was up against some amazing organisations, so still can’t quite believe that they chose little old me! A huge congratulations to all the finalists & winners. The judges’ remarks were absolutely lovely and I’m so pleased that they specifically commented on the memory boxes and how they help people to deal with their grief”.

After a series of 8 designs, City Hospice and Katherine decided on the starburst effect. Katherine explained the design chosen:
“This felt like a combination between my art and architecture projects! The design options were inspired by numerous sources – land art, sculpture and large art installations. The chosen final design is intended to be joyful, eye-catching and memorable. It represents a celebration of a bright & happy life at the same time as remembering the message behind the campaign”.

She added:
“I was delighted to be asked by the Forever Flowers team at City Hospice to work and collaborate on the design with them. I feel honoured to have been asked to be part of this campaign! Forever Flowers is a beautiful & fun public art display set in the iconic grounds of Cardiff Castle, but it also has such an important and special meaning behind it which makes it all the more interesting.”

Senior Fundraising Coordinator, Daisy Magill said:
“We cannot thank Katherine and Sion enough for producing such a powerful display. The display symbolises everything about our Forever Flower campaign and we were so excited to work with a local artist.”

Images credit : City Hospice