COP26 Collaborative Art Sculpture Unveiled

In response to last November’s international Climate Change conference hosted in Glasgow, our Art Department team ran a series of three COP26 themed workshops for Year 5 pupils at Hemdean House, Dolphin School and The Hill Primary School.

The young artists focused on the concept of imagining ‘a world without’ and thinking about what it would mean to lose so much of the natural world’s diversity and beauty unless drastic action is taken to reduce the impact of mankind on our planet.

Having drawn and coloured their creative responses in each school, Tom Scotcher, Artist in Residence, and Mark Wood, Head of Art, returned to Leighton Park with an array of vibrant designs. Tom modelled some miniature versions of the proposed sculpture whilst the patterns and shapes were cut out in MDF at a local carpenters. Once the pieces were back on the Park and Tom painted them up to show the Year 5s decorative designs, Mark and Tom assembled them opposite the Head’s Lawn.

It was a delight to welcome the pupils from Hemdean House on 17th June to see their work super-sized and watch them wander around the 3D sculpture which was as tall as many of them. They combined their visit with a look at the FLUX exhibition in the Michael Malnick Centre featuring the work of GCSE and A Level students in Art, Design and Textiles.

“It was really interesting to learn and see different types of artwork.” commented Zachary (Year 5) whilst classmate Roua reflected, “I liked it very much because the art was beautiful.”