About Rudi Jass
Rudi Jass creates kinetic sculptures with the power to soothe and heal.
Jass’s kinetic sculptures of trees, plants and clouds are based on nature and move in response to nature. Leaves on the trees change with light and shade and provide a canopy from the sun much like a small park. Other sculptures that resemble clouds move with the wind. One sculpture also has a stainless steel shaft in the centre, which can be used to move the upper part providing there is no wind.
The healing benefits of nature, fresh air, gardens and sunshine for the sick are well documented. In the most famous study, patients recovering from surgery who had a view of nature from their bed recovered, on average, a day faster, needed less pain medication and had fewer post-surgical complications than patients who only saw a brick wall.
Box Hill Hospital in Victoria as part of a multi-million dollar revamp, came up with a creative solution to help high-risk patients to enjoy their stay in hospital. Local sculptor, Rudi Jass, was commissioned to create 17 large-scale interactive sculptures that can be enjoyed by high-risk patients. Jass decided to make trees from steel.
The sculptures are accessible to patients in intensive care, maternity, paediatrics, oncology, cardiology and respiratory care. Each of the newly designed wards face out to the courtyards so that patients too ill to go outside can still see the sculptures change in light, colour and movement throughout the day.