Cold cast bronze (bronze resin) and copper with verdigris patina mounted on a sandstone pedestal

Sculpture 430 x 430 x 85mm

Pedestal 1300 x 300 x 300mm

Manchester based property developer, Cube Homes, approached me about this job after seeing my illuminated sculpture, Transmission and enquired whether I would be interested in adapting the theme to their project. They were creating a garden as part of a housing development in North Manchester that originally housed a water mill dating back to the 1500s. To mark the site’s history they were looking for a piece made by a local artist.

I took the housing development’s graphic logo and recreated it in 5mm thick copper. This was mounted at the centre of a bronze resin dish textured with waves generated by the waterwheel, slowly spreading from the centre and dissipating as they reach the edge of the dish. There is an illusion of spiral motion created by displacing each ring of waves and accentuated further with the moire effect where they almost touch.

I wanted to find a way to tie in the old and the new and I did this with the use of a verdigris patina which is a coloration which appears on a metal when it ages. The oxidisation process when working with copper and bronze naturally produces a beautiful pale green which was perfect for the garden theme and this was used on the logo as well as the back of the dish.

The sculpture itself was mounted on a minimalist sandstone base, which was sourced at the Fletcher Bank Quarry in Ramsbottom and fabricated by stonemasons in Trafford Park, thus keeping the project as local as possible.

As a proud Mancunian it seemed like the perfect project for my first piece of public Art. An added bonus was that my family could be present for the unveiling along with the joint partners on the project, Great Places Housing Group and Plumlife as well as local MP Christian Wakeford and councillor Debra Green.