Artist’s paintings bringing calmness to the ICU

Calm and tranquillity.

That is the effect a Melbourne-based artist hopes her works will have on those who find themselves in the ICU waiting room of the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH).

Georgie Gall has donated some of her artworks to feature in the waiting room of the RMH’s Intensive Care Unit. She hopes the images will have a soothing effect on those who see them, and bring a sense of “peace and calmness”.

“It’s trying to bring them some calm and tranquility into their headspace, and maybe take them away - for even a minute or two - somewhere far away from the situation they have found themselves in,” she said.

Georgie was invited to contribute to the waiting room by Melissa Chen, a long-time supporter of the RMH who embarked on a renovation of the ICU waiting room in 2019.

Melissa’s aim was to create a welcoming and calming area for patients’ loved ones to gather, reflect and support one another.

“We were basically both on the same wavelength about what was needed and what would’ve been a good fit,” Georgie said.

“There is a wellness aspect to it as well, so I wanted to create some softer and more mellowing-type artwork.”

In total, six of Georgie’s pieces are in the ICU – three larger paintings (81 x 81cm titled The Ocean Is Calling, A Gentle Sway and Edge of Wonder) and three smaller (49cm x 49cm, titled A Quiet Country, A Restless Sea and In the Sleeping Sun).

“The paintings are Australian landscapes but semi-abstract so you can read what you like into them. Generally people recognise where I’ve painted them but there is a nice abstractness to them too so they may take them somewhere else, if needs be,” Georgie said.

“I try meditate a bit when I paint, so hopefully that sense of tranquility that comes through.”