Sticks and stones, broken bits of plastic, torn poster ads, odds and sods. This is the visual language in the completely untrained work of 3-D art and sculpture by artist George Hodson, which has recently lit up the main atrium of the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. The four colour-layered big 1.5 metre high collages and the smaller mounted panels on display are the response to Hodson's use of art pyschology; a therapy which has helped him over the loss of his partner six years ago and in living with his HIV condition.
This is Hodson's first body of work to be exhibited publicly and a major achievement to get on display in the Chelsea and Westminster. (There is often a waiting list for artists of up to two

years.) Hodson's work stands on its own with no obvious reference to his HIV, the lack of self-indulgence adding a genuine brightness to his self expression. There are reminders of Tracy Emin's patchwork personalism in his pieces and

as Hodson explains:"They have absorbed me...filled my extra time" and serve as his testament to "outsider art".
Catch the work of George Hodson next time round. Tel 020 7625 4057.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Arts is an integral part of London's newest NHS teaching hospital and its philosophy of healthcare. For more details about future hospital art exhibitions, contact: 020 8846 6821 or email: arts@chelwest.nhs.uk