Fri 4th July 08
Bespoke precast concrete specialist, Evans Concrete, has been been commissioned to produce a highly prestigious piece of public art by world renowned artist, Jaume Plensa, for the town of St.Helens.
The 20 metre high sculpture, named Dream, has been commissioned by St.Helens Council as part of The Big Art Project, an ambitious public art initiative from Channel 4 supported by Arts Council England and The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity.
Fabricated entirely from precast concrete, the sculpture will take the form of a head of a girl with her eyes closed, seemingly in a dream-like state. It will stand on the former Sutton Manor Colliery, overlooking the M62, and will become a landmark feature for the North West, symbolising regeneration in the region.
Evans will use a Spanish Dolomite mix to give Dream a glowing white finish in contrast to the black coal below. Specialist moulds will be created to give the sculpture a smooth, quality finish.
Dream will be cast in separate panels at Evans’s facility in Ripley, Derbyshire, where design workshops, filmed by Channel 4, have already taken place for Jaume Plensa and representatives from the other organisations involved in the project; Liverpool Biennial, ARUP and Cheetham Hill Construction, to discuss the concrete mix, finish and jointing methods.
Garry McBride, chairman of Evans Concrete, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Evans' expertise in precast concrete design, supply and installation. In fact, it’s great that the whole industry can be involved in such an opportunity and that we can see the process happening from concept to installation. It’s also a pleasure to meet and work with Jaume Plensa himself. Not only that, with Ripley having such a strong mining background we can understand the significance of this project for the ex-miners of St.Helens.”
Subject to planning permission and project progress, Dream will launch in late 2008 and will feature in a innovative documentary series The Big Art Project, which is being broadcast by Channel 4 in November.
Jaume Plensa, was born in Barcelona and has exhibited all over the world. Jaume’s public artworks in the UK include a laser beam light sculpture at the Baltic Arts Centre in Gateshead and, most recently, a spectacular new sculpted and illuminated glass dome for BBC Broadcasting House in London. He also created the Crown Fountain in Chicago’s Millennium Park, where voices and digital images of Chicago residents are displayed on 50 ft glass brick towers.
