RIGHT BACK ATCHA, VERY BIG SMILE. 2019

Emulsion paint on wall
Bluebird House, Hampshire
Commissioned by Hospital Rooms

Right Back Atcha, Very Big Smile is a site-specific wall painting installed in the Tribunal Room at Bluebird House, a medium secure mental health unit for young people aged 11–18. Commissioned by Hospital Rooms, the work was developed in response to workshops with service users at the hospital.

Composed of interlocking planes of colour that shift across a spectrum from green through blue to pink and orange, the painting draws on the visual language of low-polygon digital graphics. Faceted shapes tessellate across the wall, creating a surface that appears to fold and refract light. The geometry suggests depth and movement while remaining entirely flat, activating the architecture without overwhelming it.

The Tribunal Room is the most frequently used space within the unit and is regularly seen through the mediation of a screen during video conferencing. The artwork therefore operates both physically and virtually. It forms an immediate backdrop for in-person encounters, while also existing as an image transmitted beyond the room itself. In this way, the work engages broader concerns within the practice around perception, digital translation and the slippage between lived and mediated space.

Positioned within a setting defined by dialogue, assessment and decision-making, the painting introduces colour, complexity and a sense of agency into the environment. It reframes the architectural interior as a space of visibility and presence, shaped in part by the voices of those who use it.