'The Light of the City' - Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK.
N 53° 01.394 W 002° 10.652
30U E 555165 N 5875171
The sculpture 'Light of the City' is located outside entrance to The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery on Bethesda Street in Hanley.
Waymark Code: WMY2E8
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/07/2018
Views: 1
'The Light of the City' statue was commissioned to mark the centenary of the six towns uniting as one city - Stoke-on-Trent, as well as referencing the Staffordshire Hoard.
The £135,000 sculpture was designed by the Scottish artist David Annand and was unveiled outside the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, in Hanley on the 3rd December 2010.
City residents were asked to choose between four designs for the sculpture, with city council and museum staff making the final decision between the two most popular.
The sculpture, although made in bronze, has been treated to look like clay. It depicts two figures standing on a stainless steel hexagonal pedestal, the sides of which bear the names of the six towns.
The male figure holds a plate above the couples head bathing them in light. The plate represents the Staffordshire hoard and the underside is etched with a two line poem. The city council ran a competition to find a poem which would be written on the sculpture. The winning entry was a two-line poem written by Penkhull musician David Vickers.
His poem reads:
"Salute with light, our city's year;
a century embracing.
Reflect with pride, our city's skills,
from earth to table gracing."
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A video about the making of the sculpture can be seen at the following link. (
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David Annand takes a remarkably fresh somewhat evolutionary approach to public art commissions, he says his sculptures are not just about creating a sense of place but for the art to become the place, his sculptures are structures that people can walk into and use, combining practicality with aesthetic vision.
David Annand works with two main companies, Powderhall Bronze Ltd and Cam Welding & Fabrications – specialists in stainless steel. (
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