the old tannery

GARDEN SCULPTURE - BRADFORD-ON-AVON, BATH

The client came to studio 4.10 looking for a garden screen to be erected at the end of their property to help obscure views out towards a recent neighbouring development. The brief sought to develop something extra special and out of the ordinary to ensure its function was balanced against a rich artistic narrative and material quality.

The site is rich in history as the Old Tannery complex and features a natural spring running through the gardens leading to the mill pond. Beside this is the new screen made from undulating planes of slatted timbers that weave and overlap to generate a changing composition of reflections and colours. This draws inspiration from the folded animal hides being treated, the running spring waters that fed the mill and the magical chemical transformation of the old tannery process itself.

The site has a rich heritage of changing industry built within a bold landscape and enlivened by the springs that emerge and flow through the settlement. This is a place with unique chemistry not limited to the historic tannery process, but a site with many converging paths that have seen the flow of waters, people, and industry through its grounds. The installation speaks to this convergence of routes and overlays, and to a state of change and transformation of material with the emergence of something unexpected and precious.