Magic

Powdered- Liquid- Solid.

This is the bit I love the most about casting concrete. You have poured a liquid into a mould then 24 hours later that liquid has become as hard as rock. It is not until the shuttering has come off that you know what you have got. It is almost like a potter opening her kiln. This is the moment all the planning has gone into. So exciting. The textures realised and unexpected details achieved cannot be accomplished in any other way. So although you are as nervous as hell, and almost don’t want to pull the shuttering off, you can’t stop yourself from ripping it down.

Reinforcing

Obviously health and safety issues are always an important consideration with public art works so I consulted Bryan Redstone, a structural engineer from Exmouth, who very kindly gave me the advice to reinforce at every opportunity. Thank you Bryan for your much needed support of the Arts

The Hard Work Begins

All hands to the decks. Day of The Wedding so only crew available to help are family - Husband, father in law, children, plus a friend of my daughter. This is sold as great exercise and some extra pocket money. They work really hard all day while I direct and rush about getting more supplies. Major big thank you to Matthew, David, Jemima,Tasman and Peony Knight plus Curtis for good spirits under stressful conditions.

The stuttering only just managed to take the strain of the weight. Much propping and emergency fixing later, the deed was done

Shuttering Goes Up

In the picture above you can see the inner skin being put up. The horizontal strips of wood will create indentations in the cast concrete which will be used to support the 4 shelves inside the structure. I am filling in all the screw heads with clay from the surrounding land to stop them showing in the final work and make sure we can get them out!

Finally finished - ready for pouring the concrete in tomorrow.

Shuttering Ready to Go

All the shuttering work is packed up and ready to go down to Broomhill to be assembled. This has all been completed in the peace and quiet of my studio/barn because it requires total concentration. You are building the outer skin of what you want. It is the void that has to match your drawings not what you are building. Needless to say this can do your head in.

Foundations Laid

Foundations are all in place.

The site is a river meadow in a fairly steep valley so I needed to think carefully about drainage. The piece sits ½ a meter below the surface with steps leading the viewer down into the contained space. Without drainage this could end up filling with water which I don’t want. Because the water table is so high I made the decision to raise the sculpture, building a mound around it. That allowed me to achieve the fall I needed to keep water away from the interior of the piece. Having said that I still needed over 10 meters of pipe to guarantee this, so big thank you again to my sponsors Travis Perkins for their support.

As is often the case in art, this unexpected change in the design  has  benefitted the work by enhancing the qualities of memorial.

Other Artists putting up, taking down.

There has been a real buzz this week at the Broomhill prize site with several artists busy either taking down work from last year’s competition or putting up new work for this year. It has been great fun meeting each other; seeing what other artists are bring to the exhibition and what last year’s artist gained from taking part. All agree that it is a positive experience just spending time in such a creative space.

Here is a picture of one of the artists for 2011, Lee Odishaw, who was down from Wales for the weekend to see the site. He showed me some pictures of his completed work which look fantastic. Can’t wait to actually see the piece on site.  Oooops he's sideways, sorry Lee, I can't work out how to get you standing upright :)

Cutting the First Turf

Arrived on site with the hired digger.  Marked out where the installation would be created. Started to change that space. Very exciting!

Introducing my GREAT technician

Behind 3D artists you will often find a great technician. I have one of the best - Matthew Knight. We have been working in collaboration on my work for many years. He understands exactly what I'm after and is incredibly supportive. He has helped me with all my technical and heavy creative work. Major thank Matt x

Shuttering

Have started work on building the shuttering for the main structure. The whole piece will be cast in concrete imitating methods used to build emergency shelters during WW2 and the Cold War. It provides the work with elements of uncertainty and insecurity, linking past actions with potential futures. I like to introduce undefined time lines into my work mixing the domestic with the public. This has been defined by Freud in his use of the word Das Unheimliche - The Unhomely. Strictly this German word is translated as the uncanny, a feeling that something isn’t quite right.

Shopping Baskets

I have started work on the 4 shopping baskets which feature in my piece.

I have used shopping trolleys and baskets in several of my artworks. I find them powerful symbols of both abundance and want. The shopping trolley piled high with consumer goods juxtaposed with the desolate image of a trolley upside down in a canal.

I became drawn to utilizing the shopping trolley after reading ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy. This is a post-apocalyptic novel of a journey taken by an unnamed father and son. All their possessions are placed in a supermarket trolley pushed through a harsh and bleak landscape, grey with dust and lacking in sustenance. The book is beautifully written and created haunting images in my mind that I felt compelled to use in my work.

By filling the void of the baskets with concrete I am deigning its ability to provide and sustain, replacing that space with a material which is non- organic, dominant in its use to control nature,   associated with conflict and insecurity.

Sponsorship

Absolutely delighted that Travis Perkins have very kindly agreed to sponsor me for all my material costs. They have arrived today by trailer and look like quite an impressive pile. Now to turn them into ART.

Site Visit

Went and had a look at the site of the exhibition last week. Met up with Rinus Van de Sande who took the time to personally show me around the site giving me several suggestions of where I might place my work. It's a great site for those who can't travel down to see it yet. Easy access for machinery, slightly boggy so I will need to think very carefully about drainage as I am digging down 0.5 meters. The hotel was as vibrant as ever with a fantastic exhibition up in the main gallery area featuring work by John Hurford - dazzling colours, a must see. P.S. It has to be said they also serve the best coffee in North Devon. Thank you Rinus.

First Post For Broomhill Sculpture Prize

So excited to have been selected for this prize. I live in North Devon and have visited Broomhill on many occasions over the last decade. It has never ceases to inspire me from both their nurturing of the arts and support of slow food. As an artist and married to an organic farmer, Broomhill certainly ticks all my boxes for a center of excellence. Now I can be part of it.

My work as an artist has been directly inspired by years spent protecting rare eco systems on my organic farm. Being close to the land gives you a very clear indication of its strengths and fragility. The damaging impact of striving humanity seems relentless. We appear to have forgotten the importance of our environment to our survival. My fears and anxieties for my children's future are expressed through my work which you can see on my website http://www.suzannehobbs.com/ I have endeavoured to pin down my powerful emotions and convey their essence with a visual minimalism. I work with materials that hold multiple messages: light and dark, hope and despair, past, present and future.

The work I have propose for the Broomhill Sculpture Prize is a continuation of this body of work: Uncertain Futures. This piece has been brewing in my mind for over a year. Much of its inspiration came after the reading of the book 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. If you haven't read it do so even just for the beautifully measured prose. It is almost a relief to be getting on with making the piece, getting it out of my head. The following posts will charter my journey to this end.