PUBLIC ART - FLORENCE PARK, CHICHESTER (2024)
The Brief
When Bartholomews, the international agri-feed business, moved from one of their original sites in Chichester, Whyke Residents Association and Chichester City Council decided that this was a link which should not be forgotten.
Together they decided to commission a piece of public art to commemorate this piece of local, commercial history; Bartholomews having been part of the local landscape for some 140 years.
The seating that we had installed in the sculpture park in Donnington in 2022 (see below) had gone down a treat and I was sure that, with a design based on the crop varieties underpinning Bartholomews' business, we could do something similarly beautiful and practical at Florence Park.
With funding from the developers of the former Bartholomews site and Chichester City Council, I set to work to design three lovely seats which would show off the crops which Bartholomews supply to the international farming industry.
The seats, made from Portland Stone and featuring beets, radish, crimson clover, wheat, sunflowers and oil rape, are meant to invite young and old alike to sit and chat, relax and ponder whilst being in the green space that surrounds them. With the sounds of children playing on the fabulous facilities available to them and a cup of coffee from Julia's tea room just a few paces away, what's not to love about this new welcoming community space.
My thanks goes to:
- Judith Ratledge and the Whyke Residents Association for commissioning this project and pushing it to completion.
- Chichester City Council - particular Sam, Kim and Andrew - for their support in making the project a reality
- A special shout out to Andrew, Stephen and Dean for your strength, commitment and good humour in lifting and shifting some 690kg of stone!
- Kate Viner for your studio, your company and, as usual, hours of fun and laughter!