Chelsea Academy Public Art – News

Chelsea Academy Public Art – News 

(photos courtesy of Will Nash)

Chelsea Academy Public Art
Chelsea Academy Public Art in Vitreous Enamel Click for large image

Trico was delighted to be chosen by Artist Will Nash as the Vitreous Enameller who should work with him on his sculptor, “Confluence”. Each of the 241 components of the 16-metre long sculpture was laser cut from 1.60mm Mild Steel before manually sprayed into one of fifteen colours.

Some of the colours chosen were specifically formulated for this project. Aside from the many functional advantages Vitreous Enamel offers including its resistance to corrosion & graffiti, aesthetically the colour depths achieved using the VE process remains unrivalled in terms of its unique appearance.

In November 2012, the Rt. Revd Paul Williams, Bishop of Kensington officially inaugurated the sculpture, Confluence 2012 by Will Nash, located on the Lots Road West façade of Chelsea Academy, SW10. Chelsea Academy is a mixed Church of England Academy for students aged between 11 and 18 years. The Academy has recently been judged as outstanding in both its Ofsted and Anglican (SIAS) inspections. Confluence was commissioned by the London Diocesan Board for Schools and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Confluence is a metaphor for people and their ideas and ideals coming together and working together. Based on the early Christian symbol of the Ichthys, individual elements that make the whole sculpture mirror the bisecting curves that people once drew in the sand to communicate their belief. This geometric convention is also reflected in the overall shape of the sculpture, which is clearly fish-like and refers to the nearby river and the significance of water within Christianity and other religions.

Chelsea Academy Public Art
Chelsea Academy Public Art in Vitreous Enamel Click for large image

Artist, Will Nash says: ‘My intention with a public art project is always to make something that resonates with the place. By taking key indicators from the general location, the brief and in this case the wall, fused with considerations for the ethos behind the Academy, the idea for the sculpture took shape.’

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