2011, Milton Keynes, UK
All’s Well That Ends
Cast concrete and cast iron, 3 x 8 x 4 m
Permanently installed in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes
Commissioned by MK Gallery in collaboration with The Parks Trust as part of the Campbell Park Public Art Plan
Responding to the built environment of the city, the artists have created a concrete sculpture which nestles into the hillside of the Park's Belvedere, a man-made feature originally formed from city centre building spoil, located at the eastern most end of Midsummer Boulevard.
Cave is a major new commission by internationally acclaimed artists Heather and Ivan Morison, whose rich collaborative practice engages with their surroundings, often investigating the psychology of place and the tensions between modern and rural life. Cast onsite from black-pigmented concrete, Cave is made up of three large slabs, which appear to have fallen together to form a rudimentary shelter. The concrete surface of the structure bears the marks of the burnt timber shuttering used to form it. Inside Cave, an iron stool cast from timber sits beside a blackened circular depression in the concrete, and firewood is left stacked in the back corner. The secluded spot offers expansive views of the surrounding Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire countryside.
Cave is a major new commission by internationally acclaimed artists Heather and Ivan Morison, whose rich collaborative practice engages with their surroundings, often investigating the psychology of place and the tensions between modern and rural life. Cast onsite from black-pigmented concrete, Cave is made up of three large slabs, which appear to have fallen together to form a rudimentary shelter. The concrete surface of the structure bears the marks of the burnt timber shuttering used to form it. Inside Cave, an iron stool cast from timber sits beside a blackened circular depression in the concrete, and firewood is left stacked in the back corner. The secluded spot offers expansive views of the surrounding Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire countryside.
Cave continues a recent body of work in which the artists have built shelters and escape vehicles as a means of physical or psychological transportation. For example, Black Pig Lodge, 2011, (shown this summer outside London's Southbank Centre) a chamber made of polished coal sourced from a working mine in the Neath Valley, and Mr Clevver, 2010-11, a travelling puppet theatre which journeyed through Tasmania. Taking inspiration from sources as wide-ranging as J.G. Ballard's fictional tales about life in an urban landscape, and a natural cave formed of leaning rocks in their arboretum in Wales - the artists have created a space which encourages the visitor to reflect on existence at the edge of a city, which they describe as 'A broken remnant, a glimpse of the future, a place to escape to, a place from which there is no escape'.
Emma Dean, Head of Exhibitions, MK Gallery, 2011
‘A short walk from MK Gallery, this concrete cave conjures up two strands that define the utopian new town of Milton Keynes: an enchantment with pre-historic natural
sites and a fixation on a technological future. Encapsulating the sci-fi qualities ascribed to the city, also beloved of writer J. G. Ballard, this “non-site” is perfectly poised between urban and rural. It provides an unexpected refuge or meeting point, fitted with iron bench and fire pit. Nestled into a hilltop, the cave also offers an elevated vantage with views over the park and surrounding landscape. Young people, especially, seem to enjoy hanging out there, sharing photos of their faces lit by the flames.’
Anthony Spira, Director, MK Gallery
Emma Dean, Head of Exhibitions, MK Gallery, 2011
‘A short walk from MK Gallery, this concrete cave conjures up two strands that define the utopian new town of Milton Keynes: an enchantment with pre-historic natural
sites and a fixation on a technological future. Encapsulating the sci-fi qualities ascribed to the city, also beloved of writer J. G. Ballard, this “non-site” is perfectly poised between urban and rural. It provides an unexpected refuge or meeting point, fitted with iron bench and fire pit. Nestled into a hilltop, the cave also offers an elevated vantage with views over the park and surrounding landscape. Young people, especially, seem to enjoy hanging out there, sharing photos of their faces lit by the flames.’
Anthony Spira, Director, MK Gallery
Photographers’ credits
All images_ Ivan Morison
All images_ Ivan Morison