E d i t h   &  H a n s   2 0 1 6

S t o k e   B i s h o p  ,  B r i s t o l  , UK. 


Terracotta Tile, Reclaimed Brick, Meadow Planting 
2.7m H x 7m W x 5.5m D


Commissioned by University of Bristol.

Edith & Hans is a place for student lingering and languishing and loitering. The artwork is formed as a room with no roof, amoungst student accommodations in the high meadow at Stoke Bishop, Bristol.

Edith & Hans is constructed from bespoke and reclaimed brick. Richly textured terracotta surfaces are orientated to face South West so as to capture heat from the afternoon sun, this heat emanates back into the bodies of those who linger within the walls late on a summer evening.

The internal walls display a bespoke terracotta tile with a monograph like motif, created from overlayed international currency symbols. This Esperanto of Currency motif celebrates the Universities international community, while also referring to to the subprime bubble that is student loan and student fees, student debt. The raised surface of the motif presses into the backs of those who sit here, bringing an element of physical discomfort to interupts the otherwise benign arrangement of material in meadow space.

An Elizabethan planting scheme was created to surround the artwork. Close to the sculpture: Alcea Rosea (hollyhocks), Fritillaria Ussuriensis and Meleagris (snake’s head fritillary), Erythronium ‘pagoda’ (dog’s tooth violet). And along the bank, grasses: Panicum virgatum ‘Rehbraun’ (switch grass), Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ (Maiden grass), Hordeum jubatum (fox tail barley), with a line of Cornus sanguinea (dogwood Midwinter Fire) behind the grasses.








    



         
         
 
         


         


‘Edith & Hans’ was skillfully project managed by Field Art Projects.
Constructed from reclaimed brick and bespoke tiles made by HG Matthews.

Photo Credit: Max McClure