Using art to shine a spotlight on an urgent UK women’s health issue.

Darren Hawkes, our garden designer, was challenged to create a show garden with a clear and deliberate purpose, to kickstart inspiring and thought provoking conversations about gynaecological cancers.

These conversations are too easily and too often ignored, despite the devastating impact these cancers have on women across the UK.

Darren’s creative response to this was to commission Devon-based ceramist, Hannah Hartwell and Cornish-born wood turner Antony Bryant to create five sculptures for the charity that represent the five gynaecological cancers - ovarian, cervical, womb (uterine), vulval and vaginal.

Each of these striking sculptures, made from bronze, wood, alabaster and stoneware, will be positioned within the garden amongst the plants so that visitors will discover them one by one as they progress along its path. This quiet sense of unfolding reflects the lived experience of many women, for whom symptoms can emerge subtly, be misdiagnosed or dismissed, and remain unseen for far too long.

The sculptures are intentional and specifically included in the garden to raise awareness for the five gynaecological cancers. Awareness of these cancers in the UK remains critically low. In September of this year, we spoke to over 15,600 students nationwide and it was revealed that only 21.4% were aware that there were five gynaecological cancers and 78.6% of students aged between 18-22 could not identify the symptoms. 

Art has a unique ability to open conversations where clinical language can feel intimidating or taboo. Darren hopes the sculptures will ‘be an artistic focal point in the Show Garden’ which  ‘will compel visitors to pause, look more closely, and engage on a deeper, more emotional level’. By combining art and landscape, as Darren has, the garden becomes more than a visual experience but a platform and a catalyst for awareness and change.

By using art to shine a spotlight on gynaecological cancers, we can continue to educate the UK, fund research and treatment and break taboos. 

Darren’s ‘Lady Garden Foundation ‘Silent No More’ Garden’ aims to encourage earlier conversations, earlier diagnosis and ultimately, better outcomes. Sometimes, change begins with the courage to look, to ask, and to talk. Awareness and early diagnosis saves lives.