The 40 Faces of St Gemma's

Thought-provoking portraits marking the 40th anniversary of St Gemma's Hospice in Leeds have gone on show in the city.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Jul 2018, 16:20 BST
Updated 16th Jul 2018, 16:44 BST
IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.
IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.

The 40 Faces of St Gemma’s photography exhibition at Leeds City Museum shares the heartfelt stories of patients, families, volunteers and staff.

Photographer Olivia Hemingway has captured the portraits of 40 people who represent the work of St Gemma’s Hospice.

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Her work focuses on people’s lives in everyday surroundings. Olivia photographed the 40 Faces in places that were special to them and sometimes with objects that helped to tell their unique story.

IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.
IMAGE: India Schofield is one of the people featured in the 40 Faces of St Gemmas exhibition. Picture by Olivia Hemingway.

This exhibition goes behind the scenes of St Gemma’s Hospice in Moortown to reveal the sometimes surprising and heart-warming truth about hospice care. The powerful portraits demonstrate strong feelings of hope, love, happiness, humour and bravery.

Among the people featured is India Schofield, a teenager whose mum Karen was a patient at the hospice last year. India shared her story about spending time with her mum at St Gemma’s Hospice.

India said: “The hospice wasn’t what I expected, it was lovely. We had a few Saturday nights in St Gemma’s. We sat there one Saturday and I did all mum’s make-up and we had a movie night.”

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India’s story, like many of the others, shows a side of St Gemma’s that people may not expect. The hospice works hard to make family life as normal as possible and also provides bereavement support to patients’ families.

The exhibition is suitable for all ages and is free to visit from Tuesday to Sunday at Leeds City Museum until Sunday, September 23. See www.st-gemma.co.uk/40Faces-gallery for more information.

Related topics:LeedsIndia