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Episode 2: 6 Places to see Outdoor Sculpture in the UK
86 Plays1 year ago
Episode 2: 6 Places to see Outdoor Sculpture in the UK
In this episode Vyki and Catherine share their six favourite places to see outdoor sculpture in the UK and one place they both really, really want to visit.
Can you see all 500 acres of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in one go? Find out why sheep and Henry Moore sculptures are natural companions. Discover contemporary sculpture on Roman roads in the City of London. Take a cable car and discover The Line in London. Catch a fast train to Folkestone for a vast collection of contemporary outdoor art and discover how hedges and art blend together at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. And why DOES Catherine want to stow away on Vyki’s summer holiday?
Mentioned in this Episode:
· Henry Moore Studios and Gardens
· The Line
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· Positive Hip-Hop by MaxKoMusic from Chosic
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Transcript
Introduction to Exhibitionists Podcast
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to the Exhibitionists podcast. I'm Catherine from Cultural Wednesday. And I'm Vicki from Museum Mum. Together we're your co-hosts on this friendly insider's guide to the best exhibitions, museums and historic places to visit in London and beyond. Between us we visit hundreds of cultural places a year. We're here to share what we've seen so you know what's worth the travel. Get ready to fuel your curiosity and wanderlust with the Exhibitionists.
Exploring UK Sculpture Parks
00:00:32
Speaker
This week, we're talking about six sculpture parks to visit in the UK. But first, Catherine, how are you? I'm fine, but I'm a bit tired because yesterday I zipped up to Manchester and back to check out the Manchester International Festival. That looked so good on your stories. What was your highlight? Searching for coins in the exhibition, Exchange Square. Just amazing.
00:01:02
Speaker
Did you find any? I found two. Well, I found three. There are three different types of coins. So I found three, but two were the same. So you can flip and they can help you make decisions. So it's stop or go or together or solo.
00:01:19
Speaker
Oh, I think I need a bit of decision-making in my life. And also, I had the pleasure of seeing you this week. We bumped into each other at the Young V&A reopening. We did, which is a place transformed. It was such a beautiful space. I think we should do an
00:01:38
Speaker
episodes all about all of the reopenings and refurbishments because there's so many at the moment in London. There are so many, so many new and exciting or newly exciting spaces to see that we definitely need a reopening episode.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park Deep Dive
00:01:52
Speaker
Should we get on now with our sculpture parks, which is the first one you'd like to suggest that people should visit? I am going to suggest the Yorkshire Sculpture Park because my mother's family all come from Yorkshire and it's the first ever
00:02:08
Speaker
British sculpture park. My family don't come from Yorkshire but it is one of my happy places so I'm really delighted to see on this list. Would you like to sort of describe it for people so they know what to expect? Yes, it's just south of Wakefield, just off the M1. It's
00:02:28
Speaker
500 acres, so it's vast. I don't think there's any way that you could see it all in one visit. And I don't know how many sculptures it's got. How many sculptures has it got? Do you know how many sculptures it's got? It's got round about 100 and I did attempt to try and see most of them in one day on my first visit and I would not recommend that, especially with children. Like you say, it's vast and there's just so much to see.
00:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, when we visited our eye from the car park, our eye was immediately taken by something in the deep, far distance at the bottom of a hill. And so we set off and the whole of the sculpture park has got sheep in it and sheep poo. So we walked through the sheep and the sheep poo.
00:03:16
Speaker
admiring the Henry Moores as we went. And as you got closer, you thought, oh, that's a giant woman. And then you thought, oh, not only is it a giant walking woman, she seems to be flayed. And as you got closer, you realized that she was flayed and pregnant. And of course, this is, it's Damien Hurst. Who else is it going to be? And so on one side, you can see, you can see the fetus and
00:03:46
Speaker
she's played and then on the other side she's whole and it's called and the virgin mother
00:03:52
Speaker
And it's giant. I mean, I can't even guess how many meters it is, but actually that one really freaked my kids out. And when we went back again this year, they tried to avoid it, which because of its size, you really can't. But it's got such, I think it's just fantastically curated. You know, it's got the kind of great and the good of British sculptors out in this beautiful English landscape, but also a lot of international artists
00:04:19
Speaker
There's always something new to discover. They change the collection quite a lot. And it's got the indoor exhibitions as well. And it's just such an easy place to hang out. You can take your dog, you can take your kids, you can take a picnic. It's just really welcoming. And yeah, I would totally recommend a visit to anyone. And it's got a great cafe as well. Which I know you like a good cafe, Catherine. I do. I do like a good cafe. A good cafe and a good shop that
00:04:43
Speaker
make for a nicer visit and also help to support the place that you're going to. So yeah. Definitely. All for good cafes and shops. So anyway, it will cost. It costs £9 to go in for an adult. I think how much does it cost for children? It's free actually for children. That's really good. And also it's free if you have an UpFundPass
00:05:09
Speaker
Yes. Like I said, one of my happy places, really, every time we go anywhere near that, that's our go-to stopover place. So I'm really glad you've included that one.
London's Urban Sculpture Trails
00:05:20
Speaker
I want to take us maybe to keep the Yorkshire link, but take us to Hertfisher Village with the Henry Moore Studio and Gardens, which is
00:05:31
Speaker
the home for over 40 years of Henry Moore, the modernist sculptor. And again, this is just such an easy place to visit. It's almost 70 acres. It's got 20 of his sculptures and they can change. And
00:05:49
Speaker
You just, it's a beautiful kind of home and garden. There's six of his studios you can go inside and kind of learn more about his art and what inspired him. But also you can take a picnic, you can sit and walk amongst the sculptures as well. It really for me sums up why sculpture is different to say visiting a gallery. You get to see these works, you get to walk around them. There's this giant archway you can walk through. And hug.
00:06:15
Speaker
I have pictures of my children when they were smaller hugging the arch. Again, that has a sheep field. You can walk through the sheep field. I think you need wellies for a couple of things. Henry Moore especially liked to have sheep or to situate his sculptures by sheep. He felt that they sort of aided the understanding of his work.
00:06:44
Speaker
And when you go inside of some of his studios, you see the maquettes, but you also see things like bones and stones, which inspired his work. And then you start to see that in the works as you find them. And what I really liked is that a lot of these are the first casts of these, like,
00:07:00
Speaker
massive monumental bronzers you now get around the world. And so the top tip is to look for the addition number. It's on each one and normally it's number zero of three. So it'll be the very first one and that's really exciting to go and see. It's also, it's very, very welcoming. We went one October and it was the last weekend before it was closing and they said, why don't you just pick some apples from the tree to take with you? So we have
00:07:25
Speaker
apples from Henry Moore's garden. Oh wow, that's absolutely incredible. That's a good point that it is actually only open between April and October, so it's not a depth of winter, is it?
00:07:40
Speaker
No, but they've done something really nice this year with the ticketing. It's £16.50 for adults. Children are £8.50 and it's half price with the National Art Pass. But what they've done this year is that the ticket's actually valid for the entire year so that you can go back. You can see it in different weathers, in different lights. You can just go and relax. I think it's such a good idea. I'd love to see more local museums do that because it means that
00:08:07
Speaker
if you live locally you can visit as often as you like and if you're visiting then you just just pay the price.
00:08:14
Speaker
Exactly. And they have some special events for families coming up, which sound really exciting. So there's Leap Then Look running a sensory sculpting workshop on the 28th of July. And then Sundays from the 23rd of July to 27th of August, they've also got a soft sculpt things for families. So if you've got that ticket, you can keep going back and enjoying these for free. So yes, that's definitely one to visit as well.
00:08:40
Speaker
Well, skipping now from the rural delights of Hertfordshire into the heart of the city and sculpture in the city, which is in the city of London, the Square Mile. That's right, and it's just opened its 12th edition. Yes. It's very weak, so it's very timely. Yeah, every year they have a new selection of sculptures, or some stay, and there are some new ones.
00:09:09
Speaker
So there's 18 artworks this year and Catherine you went to the preview, can I ask you which were your favourite works that you saw this time around? I did go to the preview and my favourite or favourites were, it's called an untitled ceiling installation by Mika Rothenberg and it's on a ceiling so it's all above you as the name implies.
00:09:33
Speaker
And it's a video of coloured light bulbs being smashed with a hammer. It looks beautiful. It's slightly scary having a giant hammer coming down, sort of several metres above your head. But it's beautiful. It's got the allusions to the glass ceiling. It's just a stunning mesmeric work.
00:10:01
Speaker
It really is. I saw that one and that was one of my favourites. That's 120 Fenchurch Street. That's right. That is the Fencourt Garden, which I have never been to. I think it's probably another episode that we need to do rooftop gardens in London.
00:10:19
Speaker
But okay, but we don't. That'll be a fun research project for sure. That was beautiful. And they had the noise of it as well. It's very Mesmeric that work.
Folkstone Artworks Discussion
00:10:30
Speaker
And it was definitely my favourite that I saw. I also really liked, it's actually officially called Pitu Pitu Pitu by Simeon Barkley. But
00:10:42
Speaker
everybody who I was with just called it the Cock on the Rock. It's a giant rock with a teeny tiny cock rock on the top. And it's just fun. And when I went after work the other day, there were people skateboarding off the side of the plinth. That's really good.
00:11:05
Speaker
interactivity at its best. Exactly, not what you should be doing with sculptures. But I think having it in the urban environment, it just gives you a different perspective on the city. It's a way to explore London in more depth and find these kind of hidden courtyards and spaces and be surprised.
00:11:23
Speaker
If you go on the weekend, it's also really quiet. So I really enjoy going around the city at that time. And in Old Gate Square, there's a fantastic, there are only four little water spouts, part of a water feature. But for some reason, whenever we go, the sun is out and the kids always end up playing there for ages. So it's a really nice, relaxed excuse, really, to have a wander around part of London and get to know it better.
00:11:48
Speaker
The sun always shines in Allgate Square. You heard it here first. You can download an app or there is there's a map by and explanation plinth by each sculpture that would help you go from one to the other. So it's a really easy and free thing to explore. And this edition runs until April 2024. OK, any other urban London sculptures?
00:12:18
Speaker
Well, I think we should maybe talk about The Line, which is London's permanent public art walk in East London. And it runs from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to the O2. It's got this kind of route. It follows what they call the meridian and the waterways. So it's actually quite a long route. I haven't done it all in one go. I've only ever done it in bits. No, I haven't ever done it in bits.
00:12:41
Speaker
But it's, I really want to do the whole thing in one guy. But again, it's another way of exploring London and finding places and spaces and parks and squares to enjoy. What's your highlights on the line?
00:12:57
Speaker
My highlights are, it's called Richard Wilson, A Slice of Reality, and it's a slice of a boat. It's in the Thames. I discovered this one time. I was at the O2 for a thing during the day and it came out, it was still quite early and at that stage there was nothing else around, there was nothing to do.
00:13:22
Speaker
And I thought, well, I wonder what's on the other side of the O2. I must be able to walk round the O2. So I said, oh, it was quite a grey, cold day. It's something I'd recommend doing on your own. It was quite, quite isolating. I came across this slice
Houghton Hall's Sculpture Gardens
00:13:40
Speaker
of a boat. It's just, it's really spooky. I had to run past it.
00:13:47
Speaker
And I understand, Catherine, that you've actually been onto that slice of boat at one point. I was very, very scared. I'm not good at enclosed spaces and going into spaces where you don't know what you're going to find. And there was quite a lot of that. I'd say it's not something that you can usually do. I was there for a preview of
00:14:16
Speaker
a art angel installation that was involving a lighthouse on the other side of the river. But it's an abandoned industrial space and so all the sort of the on the water so it's quite scary.
00:14:35
Speaker
But I think a lot of it has changed now because you've got the peninsula, as they call that, that bit of the O2. They've done a lot of work. For example, you've got the high walk now that's quite stunning. It's very short, but very stunning raised walkway that you can actually scoot or walk along. They put on a lot of festivals there now. There's lots to do. You wouldn't. There's absolutely no way now that you would come out of the
00:15:02
Speaker
on a Tuesday morning at 11 o'clock and think it's nothing to do, which is what happened to me. Definitely. And also further along, they're adding works all the time to the line and changing some over. So last year they added the Rana Begum, one of her Catching Colour series in Botanic Square. And that's a part of the East London that I didn't know. It's brand new. And that's such a lovely space to go to. It's actually near Trinity Boy.
00:15:32
Speaker
lighthouse, you can actually easily do it as part of the same day. And it's, Bagam's work is just stunning. It's these coloured nets that are suspended and you can walk under it. Again, it's different in different lights and it's just really beautiful. And it's
00:15:48
Speaker
The line, it's free, it's open all hours. It's definitely something to explore and a reason to get out and see what's there. I was there recently. I was saying that Yinka Lore is the recent edition. I think it's called States of Happiness. It's two enormous chairs with Dutch wax fabric on them. They are incredible.
00:16:15
Speaker
His work is so colourful. Oh no, it's just beautiful. You want to sit on the chairs, even though there's no way you could clamber up. You'd need to be a giant. And then afterwards I went home, I crossed over the river on the cable car, which always adds to the glee of any expedition, I feel.
00:16:35
Speaker
Definitely. So the trail itself is free. You just have to pay for the cable car because it's not included with your oyster or travel card. And I think it's £6 for adults. Yeah, and £3 for children. That's one way. But again, it just adds that sense of adventure and exploring. You know, you've been over the tens in a cable car, so that's definitely... With great views over London, incredible views over London.
00:16:59
Speaker
Absolutely. The next one I'd like to suggest is another urban art exhibition. In fact, it's the UK's largest urban art exhibition, which is Folkston Artworks down on the Kent coast. This is
00:17:15
Speaker
very large. It's got 74 artworks at the moment by 46 artists. So it does grow. They do the focused and triennial and then they expand, they add more works and then it contracts. But at the moment it's still got 74 artworks to find and it's like a who's who really of modern British and international sculptors. It's really quite surprising. The seaside location is fantastic. It's
00:17:41
Speaker
they've really used the space. So there's four maps to guide you around this number of artworks. And the one we've focused on before is the harbour and the waterfront, which is just a great day out. You can get the high-speed train from King's Cross within an hour. You're by the seaside. There's a sandy beach. There's a harbour with a lighthouse. And the Pebble Beach. You've got all the beaches. All the beaches. And great food as well. Yes. Folkston is a place transformed as well.
00:18:10
Speaker
I had cause to spend time there in the 90s and never wished to go back again and went back for the Triennial a couple of years ago. Amazing, beautiful and we've been back many times since.
00:18:23
Speaker
So some of my favorite artworks on the trail. So you've got Richard Wood's holiday home. He's got this almost cartoonish, maybe miffy-like house, which is in 3D, which is floating in the harbor. So when the wall of tide goes out, you can actually walk through the mud and the sands and stand right next to it. Or if the tide's in, you see it floating and it's a comment on
00:18:44
Speaker
the kind of rebirth of Folkstone, but also at what expense has that been this gentrification? Is it just now becoming a place for holiday homes? And you've also got a celebration of the local in Cornelia Parker's mermaid as well. She's kind of taken inspiration from Copenhagen's famous mermaid and cast a local woman. And she's overlooking this beautiful sandy beach. And it has possibly my favorite, Anthony Gormley, that I've seen.
00:19:13
Speaker
But that's just another spooky one. That's very spooky. You've got to be careful not to slip down the stairs. So on the harbour wall, which is very, very high, there's some rather wet steps you have to go down. I've got a ferry from those. Oh!
00:19:29
Speaker
Wow. Yeah, that's how old I am. Well, I'd be a bit scared to do that. When I went down, it was all down and the wind was whistling and you have this huge open view very high up with this sculpture, this Anthony Gormley cast just overlooking it. And I really was quite terrified with the wind that I might fall down. So definitely hold on to something. He gets submerged with the tide as well. So it's wet and it's slimy and it's a dark space that you're going down into.
00:19:59
Speaker
Again, I did that on my own when I saw it the first time and was absolutely petrified. I should never, never go and see artworks on my own, really. That should be... Well, and which... because you've done other parts of the trail, is that right? Yes. So I've walked along the stony beaches underneath the cliffs.
00:20:23
Speaker
And my favorite there is a pavilion by Lubaina Himmid. It looks like a jelly mold. And again, in different lights, it changes. I've seen it on one day, and it looked limpid as if it was dissolving into the sky.
00:20:43
Speaker
And then I've seen others on sort of bright sunny days when it stood out proud. It's great.
Looking Ahead to Jupiter Artland
00:20:51
Speaker
I've not seen all the artworks, but I know that you could easily spend a whole weekend. Easily. I just need to find somewhere decent to stay. Well, there's right on the front, there's a hotel that looks like a ship.
00:21:10
Speaker
you get bingo included in your stay there. But I haven't stayed. Yeah, I'm a bit scared of that hotel. Yes. So which other places would you recommend, Catherine? Going to my home county, basically we're just visiting all my relations, Norfolk. Houghton Hall up in North Norfolk.
00:21:37
Speaker
has a permanent collection of sculptures, all situated in a garden that is divided into rooms with hedges. So you stumble across these sculptures in hedged rooms.
00:21:58
Speaker
And this one I visited because a few years ago, because you recommended it to me, actually. They do a temporary exhibition each year by a sculptor, a sculptor. So this year it's Sean Scully. I think when we went, it was Anish Kapoor, which was fantastic. But as you say, they've got 13 permanent works. Those in themselves are definitely worth a visit. The one that really captured our imagination, I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else, was Waterflame by Jet Pine.
00:22:27
Speaker
That was amazing, but when I saw it, it was just a fountain. I stood there with my boys and we struggled to work out why it was an artwork.
00:22:42
Speaker
And two weeks later, I spoke to you and it all became apparent. That's right. So we obviously got it on a good day. It did struggle a tiny bit, but what it was, was a flame on top of this giant spout of water that went up and down, but the flames stay lit. And it was mesmerizing. We just couldn't work out how it works. And we had this
00:23:06
Speaker
this couple who was some sort of gas engineer come and he was also trying to explain to me how it might work and the system but it's just a beautiful thing fire dancing on water as well as just incredibly puzzling the real marvel so we we love that and I'd love to see that one again and hopefully it'll be working next time you go
00:23:28
Speaker
Yeah, no, absolutely. I can say my favorite was Sky Space by James Turrell. So we came out of one of the hedge rooms into sort of a more planted bit and we could see a giant wooden structure and we walked towards it and then up a ramp and into it and we weren't, I don't know what we were expecting,
00:23:56
Speaker
When you walk in, basically it's open to the air. The sky is above you and it's quiet because the wood insulates the sound from outside. And you just sit and look up. So when we started, it was quite cloudy and then it became bright blue skies. It's just amazing. I suppose it's like lying on your back and
00:24:20
Speaker
watching the clouds go by, pop you're in a wooden room with a comfy chair. But it was just, it was amazing. But I've seen, I've subsequently seen James Turrell sky space rooms in other places and none of them have ever had the same sort of effect as the Houghton one.
00:24:39
Speaker
It really is quite a magical space. Yes, and there's also, there's wit in there. At some point there was a particularly wavy hedge that was a little note saying that it was called Sybil and you couldn't work out why it was called Sybil until you got home and I read about it. And the hedge is, it's Lord Chumlee's grandmother
00:25:07
Speaker
who created the gardens, she was called Sybil, and it's her signature created in a Copper Beach hedge. Oh, you see, I completely, I completely, I had my kids running through hedges, so they probably enjoyed the artwork without realising what it was. Yeah, but I quite like that that it's so, it's personal to the person who's created it and whose garden it is. Definitely.
00:25:33
Speaker
I really loved Houghton and so much so that I raved about it to you that you visited. How much does Houghton cost, Catherine? So to visit Houghton costs £20, but that includes going into the house, which is pretty incredible, and the gardens. The one that I really, really want to visit but haven't got my act to do so is Jupiter Artland
00:26:03
Speaker
in Edinburgh have you been? Well, no, but I am due to go this summer, Catherine, so I might beat you to it. Can I stir away in your suitcase?
00:26:14
Speaker
Only if you can put up with my family. Your family, lovely. Yes, I'm really excited about this one. It's very far away, it's just outside Edinburgh in the grounds of a manor house and it's a huge site, it's about 100 acres and what's really interesting about it, the works are site specific and often built into the landscape and responding to the landscape so there's kind of a lot of land art
00:26:40
Speaker
I am really excited about this one and I will definitely report back once I've been. OK, I'm going to have to start planning a visit to Edinburgh.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Interaction
00:26:51
Speaker
Well, that's our six favourite sculpture parks to visit in the UK. We hope you've enjoyed listening to this episode of The Exhibitionist. We love sharing our thoughts with you. Thanks so much for listening.
00:27:03
Speaker
Let us know what's on top of your visit wish list. You can find us on Instagram at The Exhibitionist Pod. And you can find me, Katherine, at Cultural Wednesday. And me, Vicki, at Museum Mum. If you've enjoyed this show, please hit the subscribe button and leave us a review. Music is positive hip-hop by Maxco Music from Cusick. Catch you next time on The Exhibitionists. Until then, stay curious and enjoy your cultural adventures.