Exbury Egg by PAD studio + SPUD Group + Stephen Turner | via
Artist Stephen Turner, who specialises in long term artistic explorations of environmental settings, has worked with the designers to create the Egg which he will now use as a ‘residency’, floating in the Beaulieu Estuary for a year, to examine the changing patterns of its marine ecology, while making artworks inspired, influenced and informed by his surroundings. This ambitious project tests the role of artists and architects in sensitive places and contributes to raising awareness of the importance of protecting places like the Estuary.
The project is led by art, architecture and education consultants, Space Placemaking and Urban Design (SPUD Group). SPUD project manager, Phil Smith explains: “Everything about this project looks to the value of our environment and sustainability; from the design and build of the Egg, to working with Stephen Turner in raising awareness of environmental change, to creating a cross curriculum education programme for schools and colleges.”
Created and designed by PAD studio and Stephen Turner, the Egg was inspired by the nesting seabirds on the shore. It was built locally, by boat-builder Paul Baker, as a cold moulded reclaimed cedar -sheathed structure approximately 6 metres long and 2.8 metres in diameter, whose aging will be tracked by the artist. Local Douglas Fir has been used for the supporting ribs and internal framing; continuing the age-old tradition of timber marine construction on the Beaulieu River.
Photography: Nigel Rigden
CJWHO: facebook | instagram | twitter | pinterest | subscribe
