A new ward at Goodmayes hospital has been named after Donald Gladstone Rodney, one of the most innovative and versatile artists of his generation.

Donald Rodney was a British artist. He was born in West Bromwich, to Jamaican parents, and grew up in Smethwick on the outskirts of Birmingham. He was a leading figure in Britain’s BLK Art Group in the 1980’s.

Rodney worked across sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, and digital media experimenting with new materials and technologies throughout his life. His work is known for being incisive, acerbic, and evocative in its analysis of the prejudices and injustices surrounding racial identity, Black masculinity, chronic illness and Britain’s colonial past.

Rodney had Sickle Cell Anaemia, a debilitating disease that grew steadily worse in his life. His work often explored the overlap between art, science and medicine and he incorporated his experiences into his work as metaphors for the illnesses and injustices of society at large.

His ideas, which often examined images from art history, mass media and popular culture, were researched in a series of sketchbooks which are now part of the Tate collection. Almost all of his surviving work features at a major exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary – a key location in Rodney’s education as he studied Fine Art at Trent Polytechnic.

Sickle cell attacked Rodney’s bones, among other things, and one of his primary media became X-rays, cheaply acquired as a waste product of the hospital system. In his 1987 work, The House that Jack Built, he fashioned a collage of his own chest X-rays into the shape of a house, a literal exteriorisation of an interior self.

My Father. My Sister. My Brother (1996-97) is made from human skin, the artist’s own, which was removed during the course of his many treatments for sickle cell anaemia.

At the time of his death, he had just started to experiment with new media, the internet and other emerging technologies. 

Sutapa Biswas, artist and friend of Donald Rodney, said: 

“One of the memorable things about Donald was his wit, his intellect, his art and his joyfulness, despite the challenging issues he faced. 

“Donald had sickle-cell anaemia, a debilitating disease that grew steadily worse during his life, meaning that he spent considerable time in hospital. Throughout these periods, he found ways to channel his creativity through making art and keeping notebooks.

“His lived experience meant that he began to incorporate discarded hospital X-rays into his art. The X-rays became metaphors and a familiar motif to represent apartheid and racial discrimination in society.

“How fortunate and grateful we all are for the brilliant legacy of Donald’s art and the vision that he leaves behind. It’s wonderful to see his legacy being celebrated and honoured by Goodmayes Hospital. If he were still with us, I’ve no doubt that he would feel moved by this.”