Cultural remnant consists of a steel framework clad with wet unbaked brickwork. The bricks in this installation are not plain bricks. They are made up of 60% red clay, 35% topsoil and 5% wildflower seeds. This mixture creates a type of growing brick when left outside. The bricks will clad the steel framework to create a chimney like structure. This structure, built outside, will interact with the climatic conditions allowing the bricks to sprout which in turn will re-shape the man-made structure into a landscape, into a cultural remnant.
With this installation I aim to highlight how our landscapes are formed. None of the landscapes we see around us are truly natural (e.g. untouched by human activity) or completely man-made. Both natural processes and human activity have shaped the landscapes we live in. With cultural remnant I hope to collaborate with nature to create a new piece of landscape. Due to its landscape character the installation will never be finished. It will continually shift shape and grow just like the landscapes that surround us.
The brick making past of the area is referenced in the chimney-like form of the installation and the individual bricks. The seeds to be used in the bricks will consist of locally appearing/ native species. Both the chosen materials and shape of the installation will create a local dialogue which references both human histories and local natural processes and will help to embed the installation in the surrounding landscape. The sculpture will be of the place, but unique in its approach to the place itself by inviting it to be a shaping element in the construction of the installation.