Aldeburgh Music and Suffolk Coastal District Council have announced a competition for an outdoor sculpture for children at Snape Maltings. The aim is to offer a vantage point across the marshes at Snape and a new view over this flat and beautiful landscape. This new piece will sit in the landscape amongst other works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Sarah Lucas and Alison Wilding. Submissions will be made in the form of sketches and a 200 word description of the entrant’s vision.
The climbing sculpture includes a viewing platform, and a secretive camera obscura through which children, and possibly adults, will experience in a poetic way how the eyes together with the brain see and understand the world. It is strange and wonderful experience when light enters a dark space through a tiny hole; still as magical as in ancient times when first noticed.
It was tempting to design for the children a camera obscura inside a figurative head, and so came to mind the friendly giant from Oscar Wilde’s popular story The Selfish Giant.
Thus, he lies comfortably on the ground and let the children play, climb on his body, and view the beautiful marshland from around the rim of his hat, or enter his head and marvel at the innocently charming effect - observing at the interior space the outside view and any thing that is on the move there; people, boats, birds, or clouds.
The sculpture’s 3D drawing will lead to the making of the profile cut timber slices, machined down to a smooth surface. The hat’s rim is metallic with a glass handrail around.
Disable kids would be able to enter the head from the ground level.
The topography of the giant is designed for a safe climb up and down. Adults can join in.
