I was commissioned to produce 3 light boxes for the waiting room of the outpatient Audiology Department in Broadgreen Hospital Liverpool. Each one represented a different set of experiences both before and after having a hearing aid fitted.  

The light boxes were to give a focus and uplift to a room with no natural light; to be easy to ‘read’ but also repay closer inspection as repeated visits were made to the clinic.

I used the same design elements in each: seaweed, feathers and shells. Each has their own text taken from my interactions with   staff and out patients and reflect experiences of living with hearing loss – and hearing aids. These layers allow people to return to the work consider them in more depth and find new detail.

Dr Adrian Cairns liked my choice of the cochlear and the seashore motif, for, as he explained, the endolymph fluid inside the inner ear has the same chemical components as sea water.