We Are Back In Our Minds Again
09 Aug 20 by justatest
After the last financial crash, a hotel in a neighbouring village had shut down and was left abandoned. Over time it was vandalized and stripped of fittings and gradually became a derelict ruin.
I noticed the boundary wire of it´s tennis court lay rusting on the ground, and so next morning arrived early and took the lot.
I made a future note of what I would do whenever I got the chance to return to work at that studio.

front view, mixed media [1.9m X 2.5m X 4m (approx)] June 2020

Despite the occasional raised eyebrow, it turned out that my neighbours were quite tolerant (and occasionally appreciative) of this new imposition in their visual environment.

Rear View

Rear View
rear view, mixed media [1.9m X 2.5m X 4m (approx)] June 2020

These leaves had been used in a previous work and I was looking to exploit them again for their hardiness and constant presence as they are shed all year round. I reckoned that the work would be in flux visually as the old leaves aged and rotted, and new ones were applied.

Site Preparation

Site Preparation
Work-in-progress and site location preparation

As the location I chose would take the full brunt of the sea gales, it was important to anchor the piece well. I dug up a section of earth and sought out the largest rocks and blocks to secure to. I decided to use the fallen leaves of the cordyline tree in the background on the surface.

Design sketch

Design sketch
Sketch for proposed sculpture

Upon arrival to live and work at this studio, I submitted a project application to the local art centre proposing an exhibition in their gallery. This sculpture was to be one of the central pieces of the show. Unfortunately the proposal was refused. So I decided instead that if the worthy burghers of the town didn´t consider my stuff good enough for their space, I´d at least put this one outside in the hope that my own neighbours and the occasional passer-by wouldn´t also voice their objections.

This was the first work I ever located outside. For decades I´d been making indoor sculpture which was basically oil on canvas taken to 3 dimensions and (as no-one ever wanted them) I was ever on the hunt for storage space. However the owners of those spaces mostly ended up eventually dumping the artworks.
Anyway, the current studio has a garden and for the first time I have lots of place outside to put the stuff.
I wanted to make a free-standing work robust enough to withstand the gale-force Atlantic winds coming off the sea and from over the lake. A piece large enough to leisurely walk around that reflects, by way of it´s form, the simple rustic environment.

First Disc (in progress)

First Disc (in progress)
Taking a look after finishing one side and inner segments. Such precision.

I then basically spent the rest of the winter inside on the boring work of building the three discs, the eventual heights of which were determined by the low doorway.

Preparing The Wire

Preparing The Wire
Twisting lengths of wire around the links

Ten years later I finally got to dedicate the time for the project. Unfortunately the wire was a woven type that had no rigidity and would collapse by itself in an untidy heap on the ground. My job over the following winter months was to cut and twist a strengthening wire around every single link where the weaves met. It was a hideously tedious job however it made the wire more robust and provided structure.