25th Jan, 2018

'Sea Air' - Cromer Hospital Sculpture by Kate Munro

Winter 2015 saw the completion of the ‘Sea Air’ sculpture as part of the Cromer Hospital Redevelopment.  The artist behind the sculpture was Kate Munro, and the work was generously funded by Sagle Bernstein with sponsorship and expertise from Mercury Phillips Signs and Morrish Consulting Engineers.

The 11.4 million pound legacy was left to Cromer Hospital by Sagle Bernstein, a resident of Richmond Court Gardens in Cromer, when she died aged 82 in 2000.  She lived in Cromer with her sister, Muriel Thoms, and the legacy formed part of her wish to thank Cromer Hospital for the care received by her sister at the local hospital.

Jonathan Parker, Managing Director of Morrish Consulting Engineers in Bury St Edmunds, also provided valuable help in the form of sponsorship and expertise.  Mercury Phillips Signs gave their support in the form of sponsorship and help with the manufacture and installation of the art work.

The ‘Sea Air’ sculpture was designed by Sheringham artist Kate Munro.  As an artist, Kate Munro is very passionate about the natural world and its potential for healing.   Her sculpture ‘Sea Air’ seeks to bring nature and the soulful freedom of a bird in flight into the hospital environment through a suspended sea bird sculpture.  With this sense of flight, space and light all inter-playing together, patients and staff visiting the hospital will hopefully feel an enhanced sense of openness and calm when they pass by and respond to this unique piece of hospital artwork.

On her website, (http://www.katemunro.co.uk/index.htm) Kate Munro describes the scuplture at Cromer Hospital as ‘a fantastic opportunity to realise an idea in an atrium space with its unique challenges of light and height.’

Seagulls were decided on as the theme by staff and patients with an obvious strong link to the seaside town of Cromer.    Photographs were made by Kate, and then converted into silhouettes.  Kate had a novel way of capturing these images – lying on her back on the beach, throwing bread into the air and then taking photos!  Brightly coloured pieces of perspex were used to bring flashes of colour into the atrium and some of the gulls were printed with the cloudscapes of Cromer too.

Additional pictures and information on the installation can be found on Kate Munro’s website in the project section linked here: http://www.katemunro.co.uk/projects.html

With thanks to Morrish and MPS, as well as Sagle Bernstein for her generous legacy.