The sculpture in front of Ashgrove House on the Foresterhill Campus is called Breathing and was created by the Japanese sculptor, Hideo Furuta. This piece was commissioned to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in 1992.
Furuta was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1949 and studied art in Tokyo before spending a year as a stonemason when he learned to work granite, which became his chosen medium.
He came to Britain in 1985, working first in Wales before moving to Scotland after becoming the Edinburgh University artist-in-residence in 1989. He finally settled in Creetown in Galloway, and died there aged 57, in November 2007.
Among other works of public art, he designed Juxtaposition in Saltwell Park for Gateshead Council and the Adamson Square, Creetown with funding from the Scottish Arts Council.
Hideo Furuta’s obituary appeared in the Scotsman newspaper in December, 2007.
The Medical Library Team
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