A NEW exhibition has gone on display at Dorset County Hospital celebrating the faces of the healthcare workers fighting against the pandemic.

'Unmasked' is inspired by the notion that healthcare heroes working on the frontline have been forced to make themselves invisible so that they can fight an invisible virus, as their identities have been hidden behind masks, gowns and gloves.

The project, by photographer Andy Scaysbrook, journalist Emma Pittard and graphic designer John Nesbitt, shines a light on the humans behind the masks by capturing their lives both inside and outside the hospital.

Staff at DCH were keen to support the project which will serve as a first-hand record of the roles played by ordinary people in extraordinary times in Dorset.

Suzy Rushbrook, arts in hospital advisor at DCH, said: "Arts in hospital is proud to have worked with Andy, Emma and John on this project and we were delighted when they contacted us in the middle of lockdown.

"Art has an enormous impact on health and wellbeing and this is something people are becoming increasingly aware of, making collaborative projects like this invaluable."

Members of the public are unable to visit the hospital to view the exhibition due to Covid restrictions, however, the work will be available online.

The exhibition is a sample of the work the team achieved during the first national lockdown and a book containing more photographs and the full stories of all the participants will soon be published which will raise funds for Dorset NHS charities.

Suzy added: "The hope is that this project will serve as an exercise in wellbeing and a morale booster for staff working all over the Dorset health sector to show that their stories are being told, that people are listening, that they are truly appreciated and that this extraordinary time is being recorded."

The exhibition will stay at DCH until January 12. It will then go on to the Fine Foundation Gallery at Durlston Castle in Swanage where it will remain until March 2021.

To find out more about the project, visit www.Facebook.com/unmasked-104460184760269/ or, to view the exhibition, follow @ArtsinHospital on Twitter.