Red Acrobat Up There – Manchester, UK - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

It was erected in September 2010 and flanks an entrance pathway leading onto an area of redevelopment on the southern side of Manchester.

The site previously had old industrial gas works and gas holders on it. The area is being redeveloped and has attracted funding from the European Union.

The artist is Colin Spofforth and his website tells the story behind them.

“Up there’ is a series of five 2.5m sculptures set on 5m stainless steel columns. The concept was to project the sculptures up into the trees lining First Street in Manchester.
Colin explained: “The trees are a key feature on First Street. My challenge was to produce artwork that didn’t take your eyes down to the ground, instead the sculptures attract the eye ‘up there’ in to the trees! The trees become the theatre and the sculptures are the actors”.
(visit link)

Each of the acrobats is a different colour and in a different pose with this particular one being red. It is standing very tall on the end of the column. One arm is raised high above its head with the other arm held low. The acrobat’s toes are clinging tightly to the end of the column.

The redevelopment is so new that the Google satellite view shows the site whilst work was still under way.

Depending which way you look you can see a mixture of the old Manchester architecture with a very modern buildings. This includes a 50 storey skyscraper which was part of previous development.
The sculptures cost £150,000 and sparked controversy when they were erected because of the cost. This was mainly because the city council are part funding the work and local people thought the money would have been better spent on improving local services. The councils defence was that that the funding from the Eurpoean Union went some way to pay for them, although they did not provide a breakdown of exactly who paid for what.

I think the debate reflects the current harsh economic climate and it will be interesting to see what people think in 20 to 30 years time.

Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Up There Figure Type: Human Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Colin Spofforth Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: 9/1/2010 Materials used: Stainless Steel Column, Sculpture Not Known Location: First Street Development Area

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