Ghosts is an installation for Andelli Art, set within the grounds of, what was, Mendip Hospital (previously known as Somerset and Bath Pauper Lunatic Asylum). The institution bore witness to generations of shifting societal perspectives on care. The piece draws upon the history of the site, where over two and a half thousand individuals, patients and staff, were laid to rest in the local cemetery. This memorial honours their lives, intertwining themes of remembrance, fragility, and connection to place.

The installation comprises porcelain limpet shells, arranged in a circle on a square mirrored stainless-steel surface and dispersed in the gallery and grounds. The mirrored base creates an ethereal effect, reflecting the ever-changing sky, the passing clouds, and the Somerset landscape. The limpets appear to float in space, their forms suspended between earth and sky, an evocative visual metaphor for the transient and fragile nature of life itself.

The porcelain limpets, cast from creatures known for their strong attachment to rocks, embody a duality of strength and vulnerability. Just as limpets leave home scars (the marks etched on rocks to which they return at each tide) this installation symbolises the lasting imprints left by the lives of the individuals who arrived at Mendip Hospital and never left. Each shell becomes a tribute to a life once lived, transforming the installation into a profound and tangible memorial.

By integrating the reflective qualities of the mirrored surface with the natural surroundings, the work invites viewers to contemplate the connection between past and present, permanence and impermanence, land and sky.  It becomes a space for quiet reflection and emotional resonance, a moment of stillness in which to remember those who are no longer here.

Images: Mendip Hospital and corridor of a women's ward c1890 courtesy of Mendip Hospital cemetery