The Sculpture
A curved stone wall with a dark opening is set into a large earthy mound. Inside is a circular underground chamber (4.2 metres in diameter) constructed from local stone found in the forest.
The roof is made from logs arranged in an octagonal dome, covered with polythene and then earth. The logs themselves once grew as trees in the forest.
Seats set into the walls allow you to spend time as your eyes adjust to the dark. The dark, the chill and the quiet are your first impressions. A small circular aperture within the roof acts like the lens of a camera obscura and projects the sky and surrounding trees onto a low, circular, whitewashed wooden table. Shadowy shapes and patterns gradually become more obvious. As the trees move in the wind outside, so does the projected image in the chamber.
The absence of all other external distractions allows you to focus your attention on movement and rhythm in nature. By bringing treetops and sky underground, Chris makes a link with the movement of water through roots and branches to the clouds. By bringing what is outside into the still and silent interior, he explores ideas about 'inner and outer nature'. The use of a dwelling-like shelter is intended to make us think about the presence of people in the landscape, and to consider our own place in the environment.
Biography
Name: Chris Drury
Born: Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1948
1966-70: Camberwell School of Art, London (Sculpture)
Occupation at the time the sculpture was made: Full-time artist
Through his work, Chris explores man’s relation to the land and to the cosmos.
"I am categorised as a land artist, or someone who works with art and nature. In reality my work explores nature and culture, inner and outer. I travel and work in out-of- the-way places, often alone."
Works made outside, in response to and for a specific environment, include shelters, cairns and fire cairns. Made from natural materials he finds in the landscape, these are often of a transient nature, and documented as photographs.
His gallery based works include shelters, baskets and installations made from natural and found materials, as well as works on paper, drawn, printed and written.
He has also worked extensively with small communities in Europe, Japan and America, collaborating with others and making works which form an integral part of the landscape.
Other Work
Other works include Wave Chamber (1996) at Kielder Reservoir, Northumberland, Hut of the Shadow (1997), Lochmaddy, North Uist, and Coming Full Circle (1999), Stacksteads Community Woodland, Irwell Sculpture Trail, Lancashire.
His exhibition Journeys on Paper (2000) included works on paper created using earth pigments and blood, mushroom spore prints and woven maps.
