Swings of Eternity

Memorial for Children, Royal Hospital for Women’s Park, Paddington.

There is something special about watching a child play on a swing. There is a look of happiness on their face unlike any other - the feeling of pure enjoyment. Swings can make you feel invincible, like you can achieve anything. Like nothing in this world is impossible, and obstacles can be overcome.

With Swings of Eternity I aim to invoke both remembrance and hope within the people that interact with the memorial. The empty swing is a reminder of the lives lost, whilst the interactive swing shows that their spirit can live on in other children, and it brings a feeling of hope to parents and relatives.

A poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye is engraved in the concrete sitting ‘bench’:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.