'Large Coil'
Oak -Carved and constructed
2.1 metres tall
Cragside Grounds Northumberland
National Trust 2002
One of three gateway pieces for the labyrinth at
Cragside Estate.
The geometric form of the helix built from nine sections
of native oak grown on the estate. is often
associated with engineering, i.e. the Archimedes
water pump, helical gears, drilling tools etc. To
construct one out of timber and then place it in
a woodland landscape is to make a statement
regarding attitudes towards forms and materials
and the uses they might be put to in the modern
world.
As this piece was taking shape I began to realize
the extent to which the form appears to change as
you move through or round it. Sometimes it reads
as a regular form and sometimes it seems quite
irregular.
The siting of these pieces at Cragside over
footpaths meant that the public are invited or
even obliged to participate in the sculpture by
walking through.