Artist's 'career highlight' adorns Albury's new emergency department

Abi Thompson was thrilled to unveil her creation at the opening of the $36 million building at Albury hospital on Thursday, April 4.

Titled Murray Meander, the piece captures the flow of the Murray River and its inhabitants using watercolour and print on canvas, and has been hung in the main waiting room.

The work was commissioned by Albury Wodonga Health, in partnership with Murray Arts.

"This has definitely been the highlight of my career. The last few years, working in isolation and then suddenly being selected to do a major commission like this gives me a lot of positive feedback," Thompson said.

"It also gave me a challenge. Health and art is a very important part of my life now and I have new considerations to make.

"Also being in the community for 45 years now, it's an affirmation of where I've come from and where I hope to go in the next few years. It's been a pleasure to make."

Albury Wodonga Health art committee chair Elaine Hill said the power of art in creating a calming and healing environment was the driving factor behind the commission.

"Abi Thompson's work is expected to resonate with the diverse community of our region, fostering a sense of connection to community and nature," she said.

"The design will incorporate familiar elements and links to natural surroundings supporting relaxation, restoration and provide a sense of belonging to promote healing."

Thompson hoped the community would engage with the artwork and take "satisfaction or peace by looking at it".

"That was a consideration because being in a public arena like this, I didn't really want the reflection of glass. I wanted people to be closer to the whole image," she said.

"Having 45 years in the district allowed me to have a long-term understanding of what the Murray River meant to me, so the research was done in a way.

"I actually found the challenge was doing something of that scale, in a slightly different form to what I normally do. I've used watercolour, but I'm usually working on paper, and you're limited in size on paper.

"It's larger and I didn't know how the whole thing was going to react on a canvas base.

"This is specifically designed for a large auditorium where you're getting quantity of people past every day. That in itself is a test of time with how it will stand up to that."

Albury Wodonga Health chief executive Bill Appleby said he was "incredibly proud to see the integration of art and healthcare" in the new emergency department.