SEED is a major new public sculpture by Harry Gray, commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the South Cambridge Science Park in Sawston. These Innovative Life Science laboratories, designed by Michael Laird Architects within stunning settings by Rankin Fraser Landscape Architects, are being built by award winning developers Bowmer Kirkland.
The innovative nature of the Life Science industries is to strive for scientific growth through research so the concept of the seed as the starting point for growth in nature was identified. This also links well with the farmland surrounding the site where Barley, Oats and Rye are grown. The form of a barley seed was studied and and developed into a contemporary stone sculpture. The employment opportunities in research and development in the Life Sciences are a manifestation of personal and economic growth for which this sculpture is a truly positive symbol.
This artwork will also celebrate the growing need for people to reconnect with the non digital world. Research into mental health has identified the need for Haptic experience, the need to make and feel with real materials as a counter to the overstimulation from social media and increasing screen time. This will be achieved by involving the public in the carving of the finished work. This is a risk that I am excited to take because so often there is very little true public engagement in public art.
Together with Senior Planners Bonnie Kwok and Tom Davies from Greater Cambridge Planning an inspirational series of carving workshops has been arranged for Sawston's school children and their parents.These workshops will also be offered to the scientists who will work in these new laboratories and all groups will be able to carve on the final sculpture. This direct involvement will give an emotional connection to the artwork and a genuine sense of ownership.
Gemma and Alex Goddard from Sawston carving stone at one of the workshops. Along with many other local groups they will both be invited to help make the final sculpture.
The barley genome has 7 pairs of Chromosomes that instruct its growth and formation so it seemed natural that the shapes carved into the artwork will all refer in different ways to the number 7. This is a way of adding a scientific reference to the new Life Science laboratories at the South Cambridge Science Centre.
Special thanks to the International barley sequencing consortium for their lovely diagram
The massive stone SEED sculpture is being made with the highly specialised and creative team at Wolffstone Ltd. at their state of the art masonry company near Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Special thanks go to mason James Thrower who has taken my model and drawings and made the stunning form for me to carve. The finished work will be installed by stone expert Lloyd Whitehouse of Whitehouse masonry.
What is so fabulous about the materiality of this stone sculpture is it very great age. For this limestone from Portland was deposited around 145-163.5 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. Then the UK was not where it is now, it was actually far away, situated in a more sub-tropical latitude near the equator.
In the picture above you will see the fossil of a bivalve shellfish that fell to the ancient sea bed to form this stone when Pterodactyl flew! When we carve into this Limestone we literally cutting through deep time.
Every major new artwork needs a team to make it happen and I am grateful to work with so many inspiring people. Very special thanks go to Neil Grosse and Adrian Bird who are building these new laboratories and who are so supportive of this Public Art and to Maddie Wild our planning consultant from Sphere25.
© harrygray