Diatomic Archway

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The original work on the height control barrier at Lakeside Nature Reserve in Ash was commissioned by Guildford Borough Councils Art service back in 2002.
At Lakeside I had the opportunity to focus on ‘the myriad creatures’ in the form of the invisible diatomic life forms that are the basis of the food chain. Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching writes ‘The way begets one; one begets two; two begets three; three begets the myriad creatures’. The shapes I used came from a book called A Guide to the Morphology of the Diatom Frustule and a local school was involved through a study of the various animals and insects that are part of the food chain specific to the site. The subject was explored through a slide show and subsequent drawing sessions with a professor of entymology.
In 2008 commissioned by Adam Owen, Manager of Parks and Countryside, I made the additional columns that spell out NATURE RESERVE. The letters were cut out of 12mm mild steel and used to create the relief panels that are now on site. Later on I cleaned and repainted the whole structure using two different greens and a lighter silver background.
Future plans for the site include the incorporation of stainless steel inflated diatoms into rocks that will serve as impromptu seats and there is also a possibility of installing a version of the sculpture ‘Piano’ under a giant weeping willow there.