Sarah Staton Unveils Alphonso Sculpture

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London-based artist Sarah Staton is creating a folly for Milton Keynes. Entitled Alphonso, it is located
in Newton Leys, which straddles the boundaries of Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. It takes its inspiration from multiple strands of local heritage, and is sited on a mound beside a lake and surrounded by a new housing development, which was originally a brickworks.
Staton’s work has become increasingly prominent and admired in the UK over the past decade, presenting a beguiling mixture of traditional craft techniques with cutting edge technology. Her grounded sculptural forms occupy an edgy aesthetic territory between use value and sheer visual pleasure. She has created large-scale works for the Folkestone Triennial in 2014, and a brickwork sculpture, Edith and Hans, for Bristol University in 2016., a work that was conceived as being somewhere between a ruin and an archaeological find.
Alphonso forms part of Milton Keynes Council’s ongoing Public Art commissioning programme — since the town’s inception in the 1960s, more than 250 artworks have been created, all of them within the public realm. Alphonso is the most recent addition to this ongoing commitment to the Council’s ambitious and strategic public art commissioning initiative.
Alphonso is a triangular, three-sided structure built from wood-fired brick and incorporates a bespoke hand-painted tiled wall inspired by Azulejos tiling, depicting the local area, its wildlife and history. It is sited on a spot called Little Callow Mound, Willow Lake, Newton Leys, Bucks and includes a decorative archway and seating area, which overlooks Willow Lake and the environment around it.
Staton worked closely with the Newton Leys Public Art Commission Steering Group when developing the work. The process involved a visit to Rushton Lodge, a triangular folly designed by Sir Thomas Tresham in the 14th Century, as well as H.G. Matthews, which supplied the bricks for the artwork. She also visited Newton Leys Primary School where she led a drawing workshop. Staton describes developing the artwork as ‘a design process that begins with imagination. Once the idea of the form had appeared in my mind’s eye, I began to think about the images that would adorn the sculpture.’
One essential part of the commision was to reference the brick-making history of Newton Leys and how it is today. Staton says: ‘Early on in the design process, I thought Alphonso would look most interesting if handmade bricks were used on the east elevation, creating a richly nuanced speckled brown surface, and that this would be complemented with fresh blue and white tiles on the west side. The lake is referenced pictorially. I had been very struck by the way that blue and white tiling is used on cathedrals and churches in Portugal to create the illusion of transparency when viewed from a distance against the sky.’
Staton had included elements that would appeal to various age groups. There are pictures and textures for children, an archway to pass through, and a small bench for residents and visitors who might like
to take in and enjoy the views across Willow Lake. Input by local residents was equally important. For example, one noticed that you can quickly find triangles in the letters, N W N, L, and Y, so the triangular form of the sculpture appears pictorially within the name Newton Leys, and Alphonso provides a mirroring between name and form. The artwork’s name is a reference to the many Italians who worked at the brickworks.
Concludes Staton: ‘With its fine location, so much thought, discussion and research going into the design and build process, I hope that Alphonso will be enjoyed by the community for years to come.’

Venue

Little Callow Mound
Little Callow Mound, Willow Lake,
Newton Leys, Buckinghamshire

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Dates

The event runs from 14:00 to 16:00 on the following dates.
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