Introduction
During 2026, the ceramic artist Philip Hardaker was commissioned to create a ceramic sculpture for the Haywood hospital. Phil composed an imaginative work of art in the form of a seating bench, providing a setting for thoughtful reflection on the Haywood hospital, its community origins / links, and its influence on the lives of folk who have reason to engage it.
The sculpture is an artistic consolidation of ceramic tiles made by patients, doctors / nurses, families and non-clinical staff. Phil blends them into a meaningful and poignant composition, which’ll remain indefinitely at the Haywood as a snapshot of 2026. Following the hospital’s rebuilding / repurposing in 2070 / 2090 / whenever, it’ll be an enduring expression of the esteem in which it was held in 2026, long after many of the contributors have departed this mortal coil.
Phil maintains a website where he articulates his vocation as a sculptor / ceramicist / mosaic artist, references his community / school and private undertakings, and presents publications regarding his work; there’s also a short biography. A particular favourite item of mine is a critique of his art by the British singer & songwriter Kirsty MacColl.
My Personal Contribution
The Haywood hospital means an awful lot to me; I summed up my feelings towards it on my Hospital Rehabilitation page when expressing the following: “I was admitted as a shell of a person, then discharged home just six weeks later as David Wozny.”
I commenced assisting Phil as a colleague, but after four days of working alongside each other, I felt that we became friends. On the first two days I was largely cleaning and organising materials; by the fourth day Phil entrusted me with filler tiles, which I needed to cut and apply to fit into small gaps – I felt proud to do so.
Upon observing our undertaking, numerous people about the hospital grounds came over to chat to us. They’d initially ask specifics regarding the ceramic sculpture, then they’d more often than not express what the Haywood hospital meant to them during some stage of their life – it helped further validate our endeavour.
I made two personal tiles. On the first one (pseudo jigsaw), I expressed my sentiment of the Haywood hospital having a ‘community’ feel about it, rather than purely being a setting for clinical care. The second tile reflects what a special place it’s been, and continues to be, during my journey through life.
Ceramic Sculpture Build
Beyond the numerous workshops held at various hospital and community locations in the proximity of the Haywood hospital, it took Phil over ten days to: 1) build the bench structure at his workshop, 2) transport it to the hospital and reassemble it, 3) affix tiles, 4) grout and render, 5) finish polish and varnish it.
The photos below show parts of the creative journey of the Haywood hospital ceramic sculpture. 🙂
