For Sale
Little Black Bastard's Death Head
2007
Mixed media
Of Last Paintings
Displayed atop 6' scaffolding pole with
part of 19 x 32mm neck showing
Yello Fella
Site-Specific Sculpture
Rickerby Park, Carlisle
February 2006
Plaster, wood, cabachons, acrylic
350mm figure
6' plastic pole
With River Eden and Carlisle city centre in the background
The piece occupied an enclosed boggy area of the park
Its installation was not sanctioned...
... it appeared overnight
The installation of Yello Fella was pure farce. Originally intended for a mound in the park - a disused horse jump - I turned up one night, pissed, intent on simply plunging it into what I thought, having tested it beforehand, was soft earth. Stop - after a depth of only about five or six inches or so - Stop. Repeated stabbings failed to get any further. Frustrated, I straddled the pole hoping my full weight would push it deeper. Stop. I ran all over the mound as though it were a pin cushion: Stab - Stab - Stab; Straddle/Straddle/Straddle; Stop. Stop. Stop. What the hell was down there? Sweaty, sobering up and wary I was making too much noise I kept looking over my shoulder half-expecting to see the police arrive. There had to be another solution. An enclosed boggy region of the park looked promising: soggier; it would deter vandals. Surely I could sink it into the silt and align it to the vertical with a spirit level and tiny torch?
Night-time again. Sober. Splash! Splash! Splash! Stab - Stab - Stab. Stop. Stop. Stop. Somat to do with compacting the muck? Screw~Screw~Screw (straddling was far too precarious).
Night-time again. Sober. Splash! Splash! Splash! Stab - Stab - Stab. Stop. Stop. Stop. Somat to do with compacting the muck? Screw~Screw~Screw (straddling was far too precarious).
No.
Suction? Friction? Fruction? Pressure building up in the pole like a bicycle pump? I need vents. My partner in crime saw or rather heard me cursing, splashing about while Yello Fella bobbed up and down like a rude puppet as his sodden lord and master sought ingress. This needed Engineering - and a new pair of wellies.
A foundation base of bricks supporting an upright stick - a spigot; Yello Fella slid onto it like a sheath, secured with a couple of screws. The muddy waters would hide the mechanics.
The base was settled one night, Yello Fella the next. Kids carousing at the top of the park put me off for a while and passing cars made me duck but finally - FINALLY - Yello Fella was firmly established as a fully plumbed-in member of Rickerby Park.
The base was settled one night, Yello Fella the next. Kids carousing at the top of the park put me off for a while and passing cars made me duck but finally - FINALLY - Yello Fella was firmly established as a fully plumbed-in member of Rickerby Park.
The following day I saw people take photographs.
Three days later it blew over.