Elm with Steel Fixings
Commissioned by Groundwork Blackburn
Sited in the River Darwen Parkway, Blackburn
Height 3.2m
2000
This work was a direct response to the character of the River
Darwen Parkway, with its steeply banked valley, and sharply
defined plateau. One of the intentions of the work is to create
an optical illusion, in which the observer’s judgement
of space is confused by the creation of windows, through which
the far hillside is seen. The trees seen through the windows
will at times appear close, even though the observer knows them
to be at a distance. This effect is intended to create associations
with the observer’s sense of time and space, bringing
near the apparently far.
The sculpture is also a striking and attractive feature from
all angles, with its sinuous curves and twists, and the play
of light on its moulded surface.
