T H A N K Y O U
In May 2020, I was commissioned by Metro Tunnel Creative Program to photograph 51 Healthcare workers, clinicians and medical researchers from The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Women’s Hospital, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Doherty Institute, The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. This photo essay is to acknowledge and show the human faces who work in the precinct and who play a role in keeping Victoria safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Limited by the restrictions in place, It was tricky finding an accessible location for the portrait sessions, so I was grateful to be offered the ‘Historic Room’, deep within The Royal Melbourne Hospital. It felt rather fitting using this space and being surrounded by oil paintings and thick photo albums filled with hand coloured photographs of important medical figures from as early as 1890.
The THANK YOU photo essay acts as an archive, and an acknowledgement to the important and historic roles the healthcare workers share at an incredibly significant time. The process of documenting what's happening within the walls of the precinct is limited due to the lockdown restrictions, so I feel incredibly privileged in sharing an insight into the tireless efforts of a team that have dedicate themselves to their jobs, and to the diagnoses, treatment, adaptation and solution of the pandemic.
The series is publicly installed at the construction site for the new Parkville station on Royal Parade, across from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and close to the Doherty Institute and the University of Melbourne.
In these images you will see people who:
Conducted tens of thousands of tests for COVID-19
Nursed and tended to patients with the virus
Safely delivered babies during the time of pandemic
Conducted COVID-19 modelling that’s supported Australia’s preparedness and response strategy
Established clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy for potential COVID-19 treatments
Researched the impact of COVID-19 on children in Australia and our Pacific neighbours
Quickly implemented measures to keep patients safe so they could continue essential medical treatment
Identified clusters and transmission networks to help limit the virus’s spread in Victoria
Continued to provide lifesaving care to patients with other critical diagnoses
Maintained the ventilators for patients with the virus
Ensure the hospitals and labs cleaned and sterilised
Behind the scenes taken by Kate Disher-Quill
THANK YOU also, to the wonderful marketing teams that helped coordinate this project, and to Metro Tunnel Creative Program for the opportunity.