Visions of Nature
JENI CAIRNS
Visions of Nature
This elaborate artwork serves as a wayfinding point for anyone walking on Ham Lane between Orton Mere and Overton Station, or heading north towards Goldie Meadows and Ham Mere. The sculpture was created specifically for this site, and it features a complex design with herons, dragon flies, and foxgloves that responds to the rich habitats of the neighbouring meadows and meres1.
Jeni said that she is aiming to speak, express anything or explore an idea within herself when she creates her sculptures. The process of completion is important to her. It is the journey she goes through with the piece, and then the object becomes important in its own right and the journey stays with her. A viewer will see something relatable to them and probably not her expression at all, which she is happy about. They may change their own mind when and if she explains it to them, or they may find added meaning if she explains.
I asked Jeni the background of her artwork and how she came about with the concept. This was her reply, “Nene Park contacted me with the idea of having me make a sculpture for the park, so we had a wander around and looked at a few potential locations. I liked this location because there was a meeting of three paths leading in different directions, and there was a triangle space with nothing but grass. So this started my idea for a three-sided sculpture depicting different elements of the park. The three images I chose to create in corten steel were as follows: Dragonflies around the water’s edge with reeds, bulrushes, flag iris, flowering rush, newts, etc. wild flowers, hedgerows, trees, and birds that frequent the park. Then geese and herons take flight, surrounded by wetland. These images I have cut out of steel so they have a filigree look. I want to express the resilience of nature and yet the delicacy that we need to protect. The grey folded corners of the sculpture represent man’s containment of nature and impact on the nature that we control and also destroy.”2
Please get in touch by clicking on the ‘contact’ button below if you have further information on the sculpture Visions of Nature you would like to share. Thank you.
Reference:
1. Cairns, J. (2021) Visions of Nature [email]
2. Cairns, J. (2022) Visions of Nature [email]
Images:
Figure 1. Fu, R (2020) Visions of Nature [image]
Figure 2: Cairns, J. (2022) First image, Fu, R (2020) Second and third.