ShapeVision at Saint-Vincent Hospital:

A Creative Medium for Group Composition

Collaborative work of patients at Saint-Vincent Hospital using the ShapeVision App

Artist Martin Brooks has been working with the patients of Saint-Vincent Hospital to create intricate digital collages through his computer graphics application ShapeVision. If you’ve been following Radical Connections’ work you will remember his exhibition “Hidden Shapes of Nature” curated by Maren Elliott, also at SVH, using the same technology. 

During his hands-on sessions Martin uses ShapeVision as creative medium for group composition. ShapeVision is not unique for this purpose, but because it uses vectors rather than bitmaps it can be used to create high quality prints at any size. With the help of recreational therapist Kim Fluney, Martin works one-on-one with each patient/artist, giving them choices related to colour and position, while explaining to them how he is using the technology to carry out their wishes. 

After the sessions are completed Martin prints the compositions overnight and delivers the prints to Kim Fluney at the hospital the next day. “My ideal” Martin states, “would be instant print-on-demand during the session” allowing the artists/patients to see the quality of the composition immediately afterwards.

Martin conducted a session in the summer of 2023, and a second session in December of the same year. While his first session featured bright summer colours and imagery, in the second he shifted the palette to fall and winter subjects “plus some fun random ones”. The second workshop was made possible by the free loan of a digital projector from the Digital Art Resource Center.

The prints created will be framed and displayed at Saint-Vincent Hospital. The artists were all very proud of their work. “It’s great to witness, participate, and deliver,” says Martin, “I’d like to figure out if there is a “ShapeVision kit” that could scale to wider distribution.”