9th March

This evening, at the Science and Industry Museum Manchester, my sculpture PHYSIS will be unleashed on the public. Commissioned by Pfizer to open up a conversation about the progress treatments they have made with lung cancer, this sculpture aims to shock, fascinate and provoke inquiry in equal measure.

A long time in gestation, this participatory sculpture references a parasitic lung cancer tumour with its invasive tentacles multiplying and suffocating the pure white 'plinth' that supports it. Over the course of the exhibition the audience removes pieces of the root-like tentacles and in effect makes the cancer go into remission, helping the host body begin to breath again.

In this world, but not of this world...?
Using a digitally enlarged MRI scan of a real human lung tumour as the centre of a cancerous growth, this parasitic being has, I believe, a very beautiful form. Yet its invasive tentacles are clearly suffocating the pure white host body of the boulder which supports it.

Not only does this sculpture speak of lung cancer and the ability of humans to diminish it; through their physical interaction with the sculpture by taring away the softer tentacles, and Pfizer's advances in oncology treatments, but it also references our global relationship to planet Earth.

The interconnectedness of human life and the natural world is something I have been exploring in my work for many years - the relationship between the human and the non-human, animate and inanimate. This suffocating human cancer sits atop a pure white boulder - I don't think it is too hard to see the analogy of Humankind's relationship to planet earth as cancerous.

24th January

Today, after months of in-depth research, calculations and drawings, the Elizabeth Landmark, a.k.a. Ascendant, planning application was submitted. It feels like a milestone, because there have been a wonderful team of dedicated consultants working flat out on such subjects as archaeology, ecology, landscape, topography, transport, engineering etc. all pulling together to make a water-tight planning application.

Its been a joy to work with them all, particularly the landscape architects Southern Green who have made beautiful drawings from my hand drawn sketches, and working with a 3D model and topographical survey, in order to give a better understanding of how the sculpture will finally sit within the beautiful landscape of Northumberland.

Below, one such wire frame drawing which animates a landscape photograph, and location map. One of dozens of drawings.

My commission proposal for a major landmark sculpture in Northumberland, along with the two other shortlistees, is unsurprisingly gaining a fair bit of interest within the press. Here are a few of the articles I've spotted over the past couple of days - please click on the title link in bold:

Artnet

The Telegraph

BBC News

Metro News

Plus, a nice mention on page 4 of The Telegraph broadsheet yesterday.

30th April

Today was a good day, installing two sculptures: sun on my back, lifting tackle, rock, sculpture, machines, and helpful assistants. There's a job to be done, everything is thought through and it runs like clockwork, almost like a choreographed performance (well, perhaps thats pushing it a little). Whilst it is physically pretty hard and mentally taxing, thinking about every eventuality, it actually seems like a day off. I guess thats the wonder of working out of doors!

So now these two favourites pieces belong to the Northumbrian landscape, at Cheeseburn Grange. CG is a beautiful set of buildings set within stunning gardens which have the feel of a large country house, yet the scale and intimacy of a personal project. There is a fantastic variety of sculpture to be found, from large well crafted statements, to small and gentle interventions. Open for selected weekends over the summer - see below.

Cheeseburn Grange
Stamfordham
Northumberland
NE18 0PT
info@cheeseburn.com
cheeseburn.com

Open weekends:
May 19th/20th
May 26th/27th/28th
June 30th/July 1st
July 7th/8th
August 25th/26th/27th
September 1st/2nd

20th April
After months of hard work I finally have this publication in my hands - and it feels good, really good.

10 Public Sculptures showcases my work dotted around the country in a beautiful designed book. Its layout is clear and descriptive with powerful images of my sculptures within the public realm. It has a super introduction by Anne Elliott and an brilliant contextualising essay by Tom Flynn in the centre. There is all the usual information about what, how, when, where etc. alongside a visual story line of two of the sculptures.

Very much celebrating my larger public work, which complements my studio based practice and gallery explorations, I had a pretty clear idea what I wished the book to do commercially. So it was a joy and an education to work with the design company Antman who held my hand through the subtle process of design layout, choice of stock, image selection and text, all of which achieves the design brief whether you give it a quick three second flick through, or a longer in-depth read. There's something gorgeous about its rubberised covers which make you want to keep hold of it.

To view a high res. pdf of the book click this link...
(please be patient with download as file is 83MB)

10 Public Sculptures - Hitchens.pdf