A year ago Confluence began an ambitious project to commission a new public artwork on multiple sites along the river. Studio Weave’s design is conceived not as artworks in isolation but as indicators of change, or markers of the possible that point to the river’s potential as part of a bigger picture for Haverfordwest in the future. Their concept explores the town’s relationship with it’s river and imagines the river as a habitable infrastructure, the natural thread that runs through the town.
Four river sculptures are envisaged, each one visible from the next. Their forms are enigmatic; inspired by Nature and suggesting ways the town’s riverside reaches could be greener and reconnect to the natural landscapes on it’s doorstep.
A planning application was submitted at the end of 2017 following a pre planning application earlier in the year and more technical development of the structures.
Siting the work in the public realm and proposing artworks that emerged from the river has proved challenging in terms of:
- keeping the cost within budget
- surmounting technical issues to install the work
- resolving requirements for safety and access
- ownership of proposed sites
The final designs will be interpreted in bronze with woven willow sculptural forms that are removable, enabling opportunities for future community engagement in the years ahead. To find out more, download Studio Weave’s Design and Access statement
The aim is to complete the installation in the Spring of 2018.
Featured image: Detail from Studio Weave Designs.
