The Gretna Landmark Trust is delighted to announce that “Star of Caledonia” today received planning approval from Dumfries & Galloway Council.
This brings the vision to create a world class
landmark, designed by world-leading artist/designer
Cecil Balmond and Dumfriesshire’s eminent land artist Charles Jencks, on the
border between Scotland and England one step closer. Creative director and international
land artist, Charles Jencks described the experience of entering Scotland's main
and most southern gateway,
“Crossing the border to Scotland, across the River Sark, is now a
passage obscured under a bridge by cars travelling at speed. Instead of marking
this with motorway signs we are using a landform and sculpture that pulls
together the adjacent site, the distant hills and the Solway.Nestled into the curving mound and springing from it is Cecil
Balmond’s whirling creation”
Council Convenor Coucillor Patsy Gilroy said: ‘Our Star of Caledonia will put Dumfries and Galloway on the international map promoting it as a dynamic and creative destination and will be a flagship for regeneration.”
Council Convenor Coucillor Patsy Gilroy said: ‘Our Star of Caledonia will put Dumfries and Galloway on the international map promoting it as a dynamic and creative destination and will be a flagship for regeneration.”
"The brief
asked for several metaphors for Scotland. When looking for this impossibility
of a people's identity, what came close for me was the power of their
invention; our world owes much to Scottish genius. I thought that the theory of
Maxwell's electromagnetism, intersecting waves, echoed the border crossing. A
sculpture that traces a set of curves but gets intersected and spiked at right
angles to the line of travel would reflect Maxwell's theory. If lights shine
from the tips of the spikes a star burst occurs – the brainpower of
Scotland." Cecil Balmond
The Gretna Landmark Trust needs a total
investment of £4.8 million. The Gretna Landmark Trust have been awarded
development funding to work up a bid for £1million, which will be the largest
amount awarded by Creative Scotland to a public art project.
About Creative Director, Charles Jencks
Charles Jencks is one of the foremost international artists working in his medium. His Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland is one of the most original and highly praised contemporary gardens, as is his recently completed Life Mounds at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh. He engages with a wide range of contemporary themes from science and cosmology to war, regeneration and man’s relationship to nature.
For further information please see www.charlesjencks.com
Charles Jencks is one of the foremost international artists working in his medium. His Garden of Cosmic Speculation in Scotland is one of the most original and highly praised contemporary gardens, as is his recently completed Life Mounds at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh. He engages with a wide range of contemporary themes from science and cosmology to war, regeneration and man’s relationship to nature.
For further information please see www.charlesjencks.com
About Artist Cecil Balmond
Widely considered to be one of the most influential creators of his generation, Balmond successfully occupies multiple roles as artist, designer, architect, engineer, theoretician and writer. Balmond has been highly influential in a raft of renowned projects including the CCTV Tower with Rem Koolhaas and Serpentine Pavilions, with architects Toyo Ito, Alvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura. Recently he co-designed the provocative ArcelorMittal Orbit with Anish Kapoor for the London 2012 Olympics.
Widely considered to be one of the most influential creators of his generation, Balmond successfully occupies multiple roles as artist, designer, architect, engineer, theoretician and writer. Balmond has been highly influential in a raft of renowned projects including the CCTV Tower with Rem Koolhaas and Serpentine Pavilions, with architects Toyo Ito, Alvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura. Recently he co-designed the provocative ArcelorMittal Orbit with Anish Kapoor for the London 2012 Olympics.
OOOer missus 'nestling into the curving mound and springing from it Cecil's whirling creation'
ReplyDeleteIt is just fascinating to see how a project like this grows into being from the very first seed of an idea. I am very proud of our area for having the ambition to fulfill this vision. Very many thanks for the coverage (even with the daft comments!)
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