Masonry arch bridge inspires new art installation
A masonry arch bridge has become the inspiration for a new art installation.
Inspired by her work with Vasilis Sarhosis, the Chair in Resilient Structures and Infrastructure at the School of Civil Engineering, artist Holly Rowan Hesson recently created an installation entitled 'Bridge'.
Having been paired up through the Smeaton 300 Creative Labs scheme, where selected artists were paired up with researchers from University of Leeds School of Civil Engineering to explore creative ways of thinking together, Hesson and Sarhosis developed a project entitled “From Receptors to Effectors (RECEF)”.
The project took inspiration from the masonry arch bridge Sarhosis was testing in the lab. The pair developed ideas around effective, innovative and impactful ways of linking the civil engineering concepts and terminologies surrounding cracks, stress and resilience in critical infrastructure focussing on bridges, to other key areas including the human body and wellbeing and the environment in cross-disciplinary ways in order to explore, raise awareness, educate and make an impact across the disciplines.
Hesson subsequently made Bridge, an installation comprised of three parts, responding to the RECEF project themes. The work responds to the state and locality of the building and all the materials used were either found on site, recycled from her previous works or found in her studio. The work was installed for three months in a semi-derelict building open to the elements and subject to a lot of footfall and as predicated underwent a certain amount of stress, cracks and deterioration over the course of a harsh winter.
