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Box Office: 01506 777666
Box Office: 01506 777666
The latest large-scale sculpture erected in West Lothian is the four piece "Florum Cultura" by award-winning artist Michael Visocchi. The commission is the final artistic element in the redevelopment of Howden Park Centre. It consists of two small relief panels inside the building and four large steel geometric shapes ranging in height from 2 to just over 3 metres, that will be erected in Howden Park this week.
Michael Visocchi took his inspiration for the sculpture from a range of sources. He consulted with West Lothian arts groups and people living in and around Howden, researched the history of the area through the planning and development of the new town, heraldic links to medieval Knights Templar and formal garden planning. The result is the four piece geometric sculpture in the park and the linked indoor wall panel. The wall panel is a shallow relief work inside Howden Park Centre that takes its design from the plans of ornamental Georgian garden layouts and the plasterwork detailing found on the walls and ceilings of stately homes of the period.
Michael Visocchi is a graduate of Glasgow School of Art. In 2008 his monumental sculpture "The Gilt of Cain" was unveiled by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. The sculpture was created to commemorate the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and stands in the City of London. It is made up of 17 sugar canes rising dramatically from the ground surrounding a slave auctioneer's pulpit. One year after the unveiling of "The Gilt of Cain" Michael won the Jerwood Sculpture Prize with his proposal "Yield" consisting of two tapering towers on top of each other. "Yield" will become the latest attraction in the Jerwood Sculpture Collection at Ragley in 2010.
On Tuesday 16 March at 7pm Michael Visocchi will be giving a Public Art Talk at Howden Park Centre, where visitors will have a chance to meet him and ask questions about his work. This event is free but tickets have to be booked in advance. Box Office: 01506 777666 more info
Date Published: Wed Mar 10 09:46:41 GMT 2010