"Splish Splash"
Maurice Blik

FRIENDS OF CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL GARDEN

This sculpture was commissioned by Phil and Mary Farris Martin for the London-based sculptor Maurice Blik. The family sought to memorialize their son , Alexander, who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 10. As the sculptor was finishing the piece, Mary Ferris martin died Unexpectedly. Friends of the family donated funds in honor of Mary and Alexander, to the soon-to-be opened Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital. Splishsplash became Vanderbilt Children's signature piece. The sculpture is of 2 children's figures frozen in midair turning back flips over a globe, the negative space between their bodies formaing a heart. The fountain that spouts water between the hands of the two is also calibrated to the beat of the human heart. While the sculptor worked on the piece, he was also battling colon cancer. The only thing that propelled Blik through this dark period of his own life was knowing he had to go into his studio each day to complete the sculpture. And, in the process, he also healed physically.