SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Inspirational photos on show at hospital

YEOVIL District Hospital is hailing Team GB’s success at the Paralympics in Rio with an exhibition of photographs.

These games have seen Paralympic fever sweep the country and the hospital’s outpatients’ department has joined the celebrations with the help of talented photographer Sam Rose.

These inspiring images show nine Paralympians competing in their sport and will be on display until Christmas for patients, visitors and staff to enjoy before touring other gallery spaces.

Featured athletes include Holly Neil from Chantmarle and Paul Blake from Dorchester, as well as Jonnie Peacock, David Weir, Georgie Hermitage, Sophie Hahn, Hannah Cockroft and Richard Whitehead, with Joe Allen from Bridport also included.

Photographer Sam lives in Bridport. He takes photographs in his spare time, in between being a dad to two boys and his full-time job looking after the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

As a lover of athletics, Sam recently realised that since he lacked sufficient talent and application to be a high level athlete, the next best thing he could do was to take their photos.

Sam and his family are constantly inspired by the Paralympic athletes and their achievements, and whenever he can gain an official photographer accreditation from British Athletics he focuses on them rather than the mainstream athletes.

“These athletes are true athletes in every sense of the word, and have inspired me to put together this collection of photos in collaboration with Yeovil Hospital,” said Sam.

“The exhibition is to raise awareness of disability sport in a different context – a hospital setting – and by ‘showing off’ these athletes in the same way as you would show athletes without disabilities.  The London 2012 Olympics and Channel 4 have done a huge amount to raise the profile of these athletes and sports, but there is so much more to be done.

“I hope that those viewing the images will be inspired, be surprised, and be in awe.”

Throughout the games the Paralympic athletes have been referred to as “#Superhumans”. The athletes compete in a range of classifications, including classes for those in wheelchairs, people with visual impairment, amputees or similar, and athletes with other impairments.

The hospital’s art co-ordinator Caroline Barnes is delighted by the images: “Having these images on the hospital walls celebrates their success and normalises their varying disabilities.

“The images are truly beautiful and I hope that visitors to the hospital will enjoy and feel uplifted by them.”

PHOTOS: Courtesy of photographer Sam Rose.