Artist – Sarah Ruttle

Time In Our Lives

West Cork Community Hospitals

Taking place during the summer of 2020, Time In Our Lives was an interactive visual art project led by Sarah Ruttle that aimed to mark this unique time in all of our lives.

Collaborating with eleven residents across four community hospitals in West Cork, Sarah created a limited number of exquisite handmade books, a series of four for each resident, each beautifully illustrated with drawings and prints to inspire and guide the residents in their own creations to mark this challenging and unique time in our lives. Residents received the books by post, and were then invited to participate in video call conversations with Sarah to discuss the stories, and add their own thoughts, words, drawings, and cut outs to the books.

The community hospital staff played a vital role in keeping the arts project going, managing the parcel deliveries, and translating and mediating the artists ideas with the residents.

Timeframe

June – July 2020.

Testimonies

‘I aim to share a series of limited edition books, to mark this unique time in our lives. Everyone’s lives have changed, as too perhaps our perspective, through this new lens.’ – Sarah Ruttle

‘I wasn’t sure at first how to interpret the work, but as each book arrives, the story unfolds.’ – Member of Staff at Bantry General Hospital, St. Joseph’s Ward.

Images by Sarah Ruttle.

This project was funded by Arts for Health Partnership Programme, West Cork.