‘A team of year 2 and year 3 BA (Hons) Fine Art students from Chelsea College of Arts - Maria Alejandra Clemente Arguelles, Damin Choi, Elizabeth O’Farrelly and Anita Karklina - have designed a poignant memorial for King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust recognising the importance of organ donation. Located in South London, King’s is one of the leading Trusts for organ donations in the UK. The mural, which was unveiled on 31 May 2024, illustrates the organ transplantation journey, expressing gratitude towards organ donors and their families, community members and hospital staff. The students were supported by Chelsea College of Arts’ Fine Art lecturers Joel Simpson and Ocean Baulcombe-Toppin.

The memorial’s central theme is that ‘every day is precious’. Within the panoramic landscape sweeping from left to right, recurring characters are depicted at different stages of an organ transplantation journey. At the centre, an open gift box can be seen, representing the gift of life bestowed from organ donors to organ recipients. Letters of thanks to donor families and hospital staff soar in the sky, whilst the changing of seasons symbolises new beginnings. References to the local area are reflected in the artwork which features the Ruskin Park bandstand, the Wyndham Estate, Dulwich Hamlet football team, Camberwell Leisure Centre, Vassall Road and Camberwell Grove houses and the 'Camberwell Beauty' Butterfly Mural.

The vibrant artwork is the result of a 9-month collaboration between Chelsea College of Arts and King’s College Hospital. This included multiple site visits where students met with hospital staff, donor families and transplant recipients before submitting designs to King’s College Hospital.

Elizabeth O’Farrelly, one of the 4 BA (Hons) Fine Art students from Chelsea College of Arts involved with the project said: ‘When creating the mural, we felt it was important to memorialise the donors. In the mountains we use flags that represent donors’ lives and their achievements. Then, as the gift of the organ donations open, the mural becomes brighter and as you step into spring and summer, it's about the gift of new life that's being given. Throughout the past months, we've taken pictures of daily life in Camberwell which we have incorporated into the mural too. It was a really nice experience to be part of a community-based art project and I now understand how important organ donation is.”