Sculpture in the Garden to turn heads at The American Museum in Britain

Calling all kids and art lovers! Using the museum as inspiration, students under the direction of Bath Spa University's Head of Sculpture, Roger Clarke, have created site-specific works and installed them within the gardens and grounds of Claverton Manor for all to see. Visitors should get ready for lots of fun and thought provoking visual treats!

Roger says, “When I first approached Laura Brown at the American Museum in Britain last year with a proposal for an exhibition by sculpture students on the Fine Art course in their grounds I must have seemed somewhat vague about what would be eventually appear there. If I did specify anything, it was that it would not be an exhibition large monolithic objects, made in the studio with no connection to their eventual site until they are imposed on it, but instead a series of works that would relate to the space by being placed within it rather than onto it. To their credit, and our good fortune, the American Museum have never required me to clarify this further and we have what we have ended up with has come about as a result of investigations and experiments rather than a pre-ordained conceit. We have called it a sculpture exhibition (in as much as ‘sculpture’ is no longer the defined entity it once was) rather than an exhibition of sculptures.

Making work for the ‘outside’ presents a completely different set of challenges for an artist than making work for the ‘inside’. Unlike the gallery, the space outside is not enclosed, it is not neutral and the conditions are constantly changing. With this in mind, the works that have been created have gone through a series of stages that have ensured that they have been made in relation to the peculiarities of

the environment they are to inhabit. Starting with proposals in January, we have met regularly as a group to discuss ideas, select those for further development and consider production processes. There has been testing some reconsideration, remaking and finally, installation.

As a result, what has emerged is an exhibition of works characterised by intervention. Whilst it is quite possible to miss or avoid them, the works highlight places that you might not normally focus on or consider. All were intended to be temporary. Many are fragile and, inevitably, will disintegrate and disappear in the elements. Others may be displaced or damaged over time but may be replaced or repositioned.

To have been able to try these things out and make discoveries that will catalyse and inform new works is what has made this exhibition such a valuable opportunity. And I hope that experience can be built upon in the future.”
The exhibition can be seen via the museum grounds ticket £3-£5, regular opening hours. The exhibition runs from Saturday 26th until Friday 15th June 2007

Further information on the exhibition can be found on the American Museum in Britain’s website at www.americanmuseum.org or by calling the museum at 01225 460503.

Images and media visit available on request.