Soft Anatomies
A Site-Specific Art Installation for a Diagnostic Imaging Centre, Limerick
The walls of the PET Uptake Rooms at The Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick, Ireland
An exploration of structure, light and the unseen, Soft Anatomies is a series of artworks created for a diagnostic imaging environment, where science and sensitivity meet.
Art Within a Diagnostic Environment
Soft Anatomies is a site-specific commission by Tracy Sweeney for a diagnostic imaging centre in Limerick, Ireland, developed in collaboration with architects and project managers at Alliance Medical.
The project spans PET scan rooms, CT and MRI suites, uptake areas, waiting rooms and staff spaces—each requiring a carefully considered visual language that supports patients undergoing complex and often demanding medical procedures.
Creating Warmth in Clinical Space
Diagnostic environments can often feel cold, both physically and emotionally. Many patients must remain still for extended periods, sometimes under medication that heightens sensitivity to temperature and surroundings.
In response, this body of work employs a palette of warm, enveloping tones, designed to subtly counteract the clinical atmosphere. These colours work to create a sense of internal warmth—offering comfort, calm, and reassurance during moments of stillness and uncertainty.
Artwork within a hospital environment in the MRI scanning room.
A curved corridor wall - some of the interiors of this state of the art diagnostic centre.
Inspired by Imaging, Interpreted Through Paint
The visual language of the work draws directly from the processes within the building itself.
Observations of bone scans revealed intricate patterns of reticulation, density and speckled texture—translated into layered watercolour compositions. Alongside this, imagery of X-rayed botanical forms introduced a second thread: translucent leaves and petals, overlapping and dissolving into one another.
Together, these elements form a dialogue between anatomy and nature, structure and softness, visibility and depth—echoing the diagnostic act of looking beneath the surface.
Waiting room and staff areas, featuring watercolours by artist Tracy Sweeney
Material, Process and Integration
Each artwork began as an original watercolour on textured paper, chosen for its fluidity and capacity to hold both precision and softness.
The works were then digitised at high resolution, ensuring that every detail of pigment, texture and mark-making was preserved. They were printed onto a certified, hygienic wall surface, capable of withstanding rigorous cleaning protocols while retaining colour integrity—meeting all requirements for a medical setting.
Individual compositions were scaled and adapted to suit each space, creating a cohesive visual language across the entire centre.
Corridor wall featuring art in a healthcare setting, Ireland.
A Language of Calm and Continuity
The hospital’s artworks are intentionally understated, offering moments of quiet visual engagement rather than distraction.
Through abstraction, repetition and transparency, they allow the viewer to rest—providing a sense of continuity across different clinical zones. The aim is not to dominate the space, but to support it: to create art for a medical environment that feels considered, human, and quietly reassuring.
Waiting room and staff area, featuring wall art within this medical environment.
X-ray area featuring a large watercolour image.
Collaboration & Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks to Deirdre Kelly Architect Limerick, Project Manager Ellen Leacy at Alliance Medical Ireland, Healy Partners Architects, and the wider project team, for the opportunity to contribute to this very special project at the new Clinical Services Hub, at Ballysimon, Limerick.
Diagnostic Centre Design and Hospital Art in Ireland
This commission offered a valuable opportunity to explore how art can be thoughtfully integrated within a healthcare setting—an experience that has been both enriching and expansive, extending beyond traditional gallery and museum contexts.
The project is a remarkable one: a carefully considered environment where architecture, materials, and world-class diagnostic technology come together to support patient care at the highest level. It is a privilege to have contributed to a space that will play such an important role in advancing healthcare across the west and southwest of Ireland.
An ‘In-Patient’ hospital room room featuring a large artwork by Tracy Sweeney.