Soft Anatomies
Site-specific artwork for a diagnostic imaging centre, Limerick
Completed 2025
The walls of the PET Uptake Rooms at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.
Beneath the Surface
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.
Soft Anatomies is a site-specific commission by Tracy Sweeney for the Clinical Services Hub, a diagnostic imaging centre in Limerick, Ireland, developed in collaboration with architects and project managers at Alliance Medical.
The project spans PET, DEXA, CT and MRI suites, uptake areas, waiting rooms and staff spaces, with each environment requiring a carefully considered visual language responsive to its particular function and atmosphere.
Artwork within the CT Scan Room, at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.
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 visual warmth—during moments of stillness and uncertainty.
Artwork from Soft Anatomies installed on a curved corridor wall at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.
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 artwork from Soft Anatomies, Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick
Each artwork began as an original watercolour on textured paper, chosen for its fluidity, transparency 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.
Material, Process and Integration
Artwork from Soft Anatomies installed on a corridor wall at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.
A Language of Calm and Continuity
The chosen artworks for this clinical environment 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.
Artwork from Soft Anatomies installed in a consultation and waiting area at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.
Collaboration
Soft Anatomies was developed in collaboration with the architectural and project teams at Alliance Medical, with the artwork considered alongside the architecture, clinical functions and requirements of each space.
The project was made possible through the collaboration of:
Deirdre Kelly
Architect, dk Architects, Limerick
Ellen Leacy
Project Manager, Alliance Medical Ireland
Healy Partners Architects
and the wider project team at the Clinical Services Hub, Ballysimon, Limerick.