Map Ref.17. Entering the Marsh Pond in the Summer Garden. The top photograph was taken with a digital camera, whilst the bottom photograph was taken with an ordinary camera. Both photographs were taken in 1995.
Prior to being commissioned to make this work specifically for this site, Robert Stackhouse had always worked in wood. The sculptor considers the environment, including people walking through the environment and over the structure, is crucial to understanding the aesthetic and conceptual meaning of the work, as the work interacts with both the land and the water in the pond.
"On the beach again" reflects Stackhouse's concern with the possibility of one final nuclear holocaust, such as described in Neville Shute's novel, "On the Beach". However, the work also has an alternative title, "Mountain climber on the beach again". This title reflects a predecessor called, "Mountain climber", which was commissioned by the Mobil Oil Company, especially for a roof top pond, and made of mahogany and marine ply.
Although he has never owned or sailed a boat, Stackhouse has always been fascinated by them. He likes the idea of boats coming and going; of boats being hauled into and out of the water, like an ancient reptilian forms emerging from the primordial sludge. Not surprisingly, Stackhouse is also interested in old shipwrecks, particularly Viking wrecks the recovery of which he has been allowed to observe by archaeological teams in Denmark.
Stackhouse sees ships as symbolic not only of change but of Man's journey from life to death. He is fascinated by nature's destruction of things which Man has made or valued over time. However, this sculpture is made of bronze which should last for milleniums. (The work weighs over 11 tonnes!) The patina of copper oxide was applied by the foundry after the casting.
© 1995 Jane M Hyden
