takashi murakami wraps a CT/PET scan suite at children’s hospital with signature flowers

renowned japanese artist, takashi murakami, has created a vibrant landscape of flowers and clouds inside the CT/PET scan suite at children’s national hospital in washington D.C. created in collaboration with RxART, the project aims to convert a once intimidating room into an uplifting space, in an effort to alleviate the anxiety that many patients feel when they receive scans.

artwork © takashi murakami / kaikai kiki co., ltd., all rights reserved
images by kenson noel

for the children’s national hospital, murakami has imprinted his iconic pattern of intricate, smiling flowers on the walls of the suite and on the CT/PET machine. this machine is used approximately 220 times for PET scans and 2,290 for CT scans per year. pediatric patients of all ages are scanned in this unit: toddlers, young children, adolescents, and young adults. the project, which was produced by RxART, had no cost for the hospital and the commissioned artist is provided an honorarium and the chance to change children’s lives as they heal.

‘I hope you can see how much the addition of this work will add,’ comments dr. dorothy bulas, chief of radiology at children’s national hospital. ‘the CT suite can be an imposing environment and some beauty and levity is so helpful. we hope that no chief would need to come here, but when they do, we want to reassure them that they are getting the best care. the beauty of this RxART project provides more reassurance that they are in good hands.’

project info:

name: CT/PET scan suit takeover

artist: takashi muramaki

location: children’s national hospital in washington D.C

in collaboration with: RxART