24 Jun Kelvedon’s winning public sculpture revealed
Cala Homes North Home Counties has revealed the winning public artwork sculpture which will take pride of place within its 238-home development on the edge of the village of Kelvedon, Essex.
As work continues at the new Aylett’s Green neighbourhood, Cala gave local residents the opportunity to vote for which of the three design concepts they would like to see brought to life in a large-scale public art sculpture.
Following hundreds of votes from residents across the Parish, Cala has revealed that ‘The Meeting Maple’ is the public’s preferred design. The sculpture will be constructed in line with the local council’s timeline before being installed within open space at Aylett’s Green.
Tasked with the initial design concepts and delivering the overall installation is renowned artist Matthew Lane Sanderson, who was selected from several artist submissions – based upon his previous work and nationwide reputation.
Inspired by the natural surroundings of Kelvedon, ‘The Meeting Maple’ represents the connection that Celtic cultures had with trees, with some becoming natural focal points for the community. The Maple design reflects an appreciation for trees and nature, with its steel boughs forming a sheltered canopy over its gathering space.
Its metal petals will be shaped into a ‘flower of life’ pattern – symbolic of the cycle of life – and inspired by an intricately adorned Roman brooch, discovered during the architectural dig.
Matthew’s ‘Meeting Maple’ design was created to bring residents on the development together and to appreciate their surroundings, with the wider development being carefully designed to maximise green open space.
The proposed winning Meeting Maple design:
Matthew comments: “There will be a focal space of open greenery at the centre of Aylett’s Green, which lends itself as an ideal area for people to meet, socialise and come together.
“In this case, it conjured up an idea of a tree canopy. So, I felt it would be fitting to make one which people could meet around.
“The sculpture will take the form of a metal canopy, about four or five metres across, which people will be able to walk under and sit beneath. The actual canopy won’t be one big piece of metal, but rather hundreds of pieces, with smaller constituent parts making up the ‘leaves’ of the tree.
“We’ll look to incorporate pressed patterns on these leaves, inspired by the ‘Flower of Life’ pattern. We took inspiration from the Roman history and wares discovered on the site, and this design formed part of the beautiful Roman brooch pattern which was discovered at Aylett’s Green, as part of the initial excavations, with the six petalled flower symbolising everlasting life.”
Originally known as Canonium, Kelvedon was once a Roman village, with Colchester just under ten miles to the north, positioned at the centre of several Roman towns joined by rivers and roads – an ideal situation for a range of continental imports and local fine wares.
Matthew continued: “I’m delighted to have been chosen by Cala for their Aylett’s Green project and I’m really happy with the design that the public have chosen. Often, public art is simply seen as decorative, but if those features are designed with local relevance and engage with the community, then people take pride in their surroundings and care for them in years to come. We can’t wait to bring the tree to life!”
Matthew uses both hand skills and modern industrial technology to interpret historical craft techniques by creating original, robust, visually delicate, large-scale works of art.
The design will be fabricated at his studio, in Herefordshire, before it takes pride of place on the development.
Phillip Wright, Head of Land and Planning for Cala Homes North Home Counties, said: “It’s been excellent working with Matthew on these designs. With over 60% of votes in favour of ‘The Meeting Maple’, it was great to receive the positive response from the community on the designs they preferred.
“We’re excited that the local residents engaged with the publicity to vote on their preferred artwork; giving them the chance to influence the installation and to create another chapter in the area’s rich history for many years to come.”
