Full Circle
comprising:
Sextant bench
Crescent (moon)
Source (sun)
Vessel (boat)
Points of Light (stars)
The starting point for the final sculptures came from a member of a youth group with whom I conducted workshops during the first part of the residency. He suggested a big telescope which you could look through across the park. Meanwhile I had been to Hartlepool Museum and had been exploring Hartlepool's maritime history, I developed the idea of a sextant which you could look through. This led to the 'celestial bodies' being represented by the other sculptures, and an intermediate piece based on a cobble (fishing boat) making a total of five.
It was important that each piece worked as a sculpture in its own right, although the sextant had also to work as a viewing device and as a bench. I liked the fact that the piece as a whole allowed the viewer to navigate the park moving from one piece to the next, relating nicely to the navigation theme; the challenge was finding positions around the park which allowed each successive piece to be more or less visible from the last. The metaphor of the voyage or journey of life, with the markers as aspirations or dreams fading in and out of view as we strive for them (reaching for the stars/moon), the boat/vessel as body or, better, family (with crew!). This allowed for layers of meaning to broaden the literal reference to maritime history. The designs for the individual pieces then evolved into drawings and small maquette carvings. Once I had managed to source suitable timber, they continued to evolve according to the particular shapes and sizes of the tree trunks, and in response to working in the park getting to know it over time, meeting and getting to know the people that use the park, and responding to the many conversations I had.
The following well known quote from Eliot's four Quartets came to mind in reference to the title 'Full Circle' - if you begin at the sextant and follow the pieces round you literally end up where you started:
'We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.' T.S. Eliot
'Full Circle' - cyclical processes - renewal - development - evolution. I wanted to make pieces which did not just reference the past but pointed towards the future and were aspirational. The work will require maintenance to keep the views open, but I like the fact that this intimately connects the pieces with the dynamic process of the park and its management.
© richard caink.2001