Public Art in Ipswich

• By Harry Gray
• 2008
• Stone and bronze
• Ravenswood

This artwork is based on the form of a three bladed propeller. It is on the edge of the new green space that forms a starting and meeting point for the village green.

The shape is a direct reference to the airfield history of the site. It is a circular work, with the main propeller form at the centre and a series of circular discs that get progressively larger as they near the edge.

The discs begin at the centre, showing the simple form of the three bladed propeller, the next tier have six blades, the next have twelve, and so on, until the outer discs transform into flowers motifs. This transition symbolises the changing use of the site from airfield to a green space designed for nature and leisure.

The work is constructed from stone and bronze. Dark riven slate from Caithness, a very durable and beautiful material, was used to construct the three propeller blades. The centre that connects the three blades is made from a contrasting lighter coloured natural Yorkstone with bronze discs inset in the stone. The discs are smaller at the centre, getting progressively larger towards the edge.

Harry Gray, an established artist of national stature, was invited to design and construct a work for the Ravenswood Village Green. The brief was to produce a piece of work that harked back to the history of site as an Aerodrome in the 20th century but that would enhance the new environment into the 21st; a place for all, that embraced the natural landscape in which it sat.

Harry Gray also created the statue of Prince Alexander Obolensky, which is in the town centre.

Other Public Art nearby: East Ipswich and Ravenswood.