THE son of a couple who moved to Haddington to raise their family is using their lives as inspiration for artwork which will go on display at the town’s new East Lothian Community Hospital.

Photographer Simon Crofts grew up in the town, where his mum Constance, known as Dodie, worked as a primary school teacher and dad Percy was an architect.

The family lived at Kinloch House, at 1 Market Street, and his parents remained in the town until they died.

Simon, 52, and his wife Sylwia Kowalczyk were awarded the commission to create their work A Portrait of East Lothian after they told the story of his parents arriving in the town as a young couple and being welcomed into the heart of East Lothian, where they lived the rest of their lives.

Simon said that while pictures of his parents would not feature in the collage they had undertaken for the project, it would be a fitting tribute to their memories.

He said: “The idea is to create a homage to East Lothian – the place where my parents were welcomed and built their lives, raising their family.

“Both my parents lived here until they died. They were 88 and 86 when they passed away, mum in 2015 and dad a year later, and they were married for 65 years.

“In the last two or three years we spent quite a lot of time in hospital so we know how important it is to have stimulation, especially for elderly people who may be in for a longer time.”

Simon said that growing up in the same town where his parents built their lives meant walking through the streets could take a long time.

He said: “Mum was a teacher at King’s Meadow Primary School and so we always met someone she knew or had taught.”

Simon is ensuring the latest art project is also a family affair by working on it with Sylwia – their first joint venture.

They have been travelling around East Lothian looking for interesting places to photograph as they prepare to bring together images for a giant collage of landscapes and people.

They are keen to involve local groups and people who would like to take part in the project and are inviting those interested to get in touch.

Sylwia, 40, said: “The collage will show different parts of East Lothian and the people who live here.

“We hope it will draw people in as they try to identify places and study the work.”

The art projects for the new £70 million hospital, which is to fully open to patients next year, are being funded by Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation and overseen by curator Arabella Harvey from  Round Table Projects.

Anyone who wants to get involved can email Simon and Sylwia at contact@croandkow.com

To keep up to date with the arts projects and community involvement, follow Round Table Projects on Facebook.