In Our Hands
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Somerhill Road |
| Town: | Hove |
| Parish: | Hove |
| Council: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN3 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Public Park |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | St. Annes Well Gardens |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 131 |
| Grid reference: | 7M |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
| Previous location: | Valley Gardens, south of St. Peters Church, Brighton. (moved 12 June 2007) |
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Makers
| Name : | Cliff Wright |
| Role: | Artist |
| Name : | Kathryn Jordan |
| Role: | Sculptor |
| Qualify: | and |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Brighton and Hove Arts Commission in partnership with City in Bloom |
| Construction period: | Spring 2006 - April 2007 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Brighton & Hove City Council |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | A sculpture of a human torso emerging from the ground with an arm outstretched in front and a tree growing from the palm. The sculpture is made entirely from drought resistant plants. Now surrounded by a wooden fence to prevent people climbing on it. |
| Signatures: | Information plastic plaque on fence gives the artists names. |
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Classification
| Categories: | Sculptural, Free Standing, Composite |
| Object type1: | Landscape |
| Object type2: | Sculpture |
| Subject type1: | Figurative |
| Subject subtype1: | Head |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Whole structure |
| Material: | Wire mesh frames, 5,500 plants |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Fair |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Broken or missing parts |
| More details: | Planting appears sparse allowing a great deal of the wire mesh to be seen. |
| Condition 2 of type: | Vandalism |
| Condition 1: | Structural damage |
| More details: | Vandalised shortly after installation necessitating move to St. Anne's Well Gardens. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 08/10/2007 |
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History
| History: | Following repeated vandalism, the sculpture was moved to St. Annes Well Gardens in Hove on 12 June 2007. The move was carried out for free by Colas, the council's street lighting contractor. The company used a lorry mounted crane.
'In Our Hands' was conceived in response to Brighton and Hove Arts Commission Eco-City in Bloom brief. The proposal for the creation and installation of this living sculpture was successfully selected in early 2006. This project is part of 'making a difference', a two-year cultural investment programme in Brighton and Hove, funded with lottery money through the Urban Cultural Programme. The commission forms part of the EcoBrighton element of the programme. The underlying aim of 'Eco-Brighton' has been to offer opportunities for artists to engage in ecological debate and to raise awareness of environmental issues. Detailed research and development work on the sculpture was begun in the spring of 2006. Specifics considered were construction methods and which plants would be suitable in terms of drought and air pollution tolerance, maintenance and aesthetics. A suitable peat-free compost mix also had to be found to meet the specific requirements of the brief. A scale model of the sculpture was made from clay and work was started on the constuction of the full-size framework during the summer. The long task of filling the three frames with compost began at Stanmer Nursery, just outside Brighton, with approximately three tons of soil used. The head, being the largest space to fill, was packed with a central core of recycled plant trays to fill out the volume with a light-weight material, thus reducing the amount of compost needed and keeping the overall weight to a minimum. Autumn saw the beginning of planting over 5,500 individual plants. The shoulder, hand and face were made up of sedums and sempervivums - chosen as drought tolerant, ground covering plants. The rest of the head was planted with grasses and ivy to create the effect of hair. Once all the frames had been planted they were left to establish at the nursery over the winter, inside polytunnels. (http://inourhands.specview.net/index.html) ‘Public art vandalised less than 24 hours after launch’ A sculpture has been vandalised just a day after it was unveiled to the public. Brighton and Hove City Council was forced to put a fence around the artwork, made from plants forming a giant human torso coming out of the ground with an outstretched arm, after someone walked over it on Thursday night. The installation, called In Our Hands and fashioned from drought-tolerant plants and a tree, was not badly damaged. The work, in Valley Gardens, south of St Peter's Church, Brighton, was designed by Kathryn Jordan from Brighton and Cliff Wright, from Newhaven, who has illustrated two of the Harry Potter books. It was commissioned by Brighton and Hove Arts Commission City in Bloom as part of the Eco-city in Bloom project. (Brighton Argus, Sunday 8 April 2007, By Ruth Lumley) ‘Sculpture is living at a new home’ A sculpture made of compost and plants has been moved. The In our Hands living sculpture, unveiled in Brighton earlier this year, was moved to Hove yesterday. The exhibit had been damaged in its exposed position in St Peter's Gardens and been sat and climbed on by over-enthusiastic visitors. The council decided to move the exhibit to St Ann's Well Gardens in Hove, where it can be cared for by the park attendant and gardeners. The move was carried out free by Colas, the council's street lighting contractor. The company used a lorry-mounted crane to shift the sculpture. Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of the city council's environment committee, said: ''St Ann's will be an excellent venue and our park attendants and gardeners will be able to ensure the sculpture is given the respect and care it deserves.'' The living sculpture features a torso and outstretched arm emerging from the ground and is made from drought tolerant plants and peat-free compost. It is the work of Brighton sculptor Kathryn Jordan and artist Cliff Wright. (Brighton Argus, Wednesday 13th June 2007) |
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References
| Source 1 : | |
| Title: | Brighton Argus |
| Type: | Newspaper |
Further information: | |
| #http://inourhands.specview.net/index.html# | |
| Date accessed: | 01/02/2008 |
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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