The Three Wise Monkeys - Snape Maltings Childrens Viewing Sculpture 2015
Temporary construction to be located at Snape Maltings. This is both sculpture and sensory toolkit for children and adults alike. It enhances connections with the landscape through direct physical interactions. Sight and sound are manipulated. Three forms provide different vantage points. They are extensions of the concert hall and roots into the surrounding landscape.
Top: Installation view sketch showing main forms on the Henri Moore Lawn.
Below: Elevations and plans
Medium: Steel, wood, paint, plexiglass, lens, mirror, paint
Dimensions: Variable
Form 1, HEAR. Giant ear horn. Akin to the Holmdel Horn Antenna built in 1959 to receive microwave background radiation from the big bang, this instead collects and focuses sound from the marshes opposite. Accessed via a door, several people can stand or sit inside.
Form 2, SEE. Kit for viewing. Look ahead to manipulate the horizon, upside down meets right way up. Look left to darken darken, right to increase contrast. Look up into chimney to see sky. Framed by blackness, mirrors manipulate the sky to appear split and moving in opposite directions. Clouds slide past each other at different rates.
Form 3, SPEAK. Quiet space. About oneself, inward and contemplative. With no views to the outside this room has sound absorbing qualities, is cosy and soft. One exception is a large tube from one wall to the ground outside. Messages can be spoken into it and connect you to the ground. Some return as echoes.
Relation to the Equality Act 2010: We turn to the landscape for relaxation, inspiration and mental rejuvenation. This work provides access for all to sensory experiences that are not normally accessible. The title plays on the western proverbs idea of feigning ignorance or looking the other way, but these 'The Three Wise Monkeys' certainly do not. These like Confucius' Code of Conduct, take on moral responsibility both in their form and function. Being fully accessible, the work encourages all disability types to access a new experience but at the same time reflects the essence of listening, looking and speaking about our surroundings and our own experiences.
Form 2, lens view
Form 2, sky chimney view