Centurion Way

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The brief was to make ‘entrance features’ at either end of the old railway line/new cyclepath that connects Mid- Lavant with Chichester. Other artists involved were David Kemp who made a squad of road builders out of Oxygen bottles and Justin Marshall who used curved lines in a 100 meter diameter amphitheatre . It was an example of Sustrans' ongoing commitment to having artworks along their cycle paths. In association with children from Bishops Luffa Comprehensive, near the Chichester entrance I made Roman Archway a structure topped with dancing images taken from Romano British mosaics. I salvaged the wooden arch, between high tides, from a mine-sweeper that was being broken up at Pounds Yard in Portsmouth. The dancing figures on top of the archway were inspired by the Roman palace at Fishbourne and are a tribute to the song Meet on the Edge by Fairport Convention. At the other end; working with the Lavant CE Primary School I made the Primary Hangers that are suspended from chains underneath the steel road bridge that crosses over the cyclepath. The subject matter is based upon site visits with children from the local primary school's drawings. The children completed an ABC of Local Distinctivemess to start the process and I enlarged their drawings and cut them out of 5mm steel sheet.
The project was organised by Alison Scott for Sustrans in association with English Partnerships, Tarmac Quarry Products, South East Arts, West Sussex County Council, Chichester DC, BOC Ltd and Railtrack. . The new cyclepath opened in September 1995.