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Grey Mares

Greymares was the result of winning a public art competition run by Community Arts North West and Manchester City Council, collaborating with a local school who wanted horses reflected in the work. The work is sited at Greymares Lane in Beswick, Greater Manchester. Research showed that the area was once a common and popular resting point for gypsies. I developed the sculpture to reflect horses and fairgrounds by depicting Gallopers, one of the traditional fairground rides. These gallopers were cut from stainless steel plate by laser water jet technology at Barrow in Furness shipyard. The two metre long horses were prefabricated at Kendal with a central ball bearing race seated in a rubberised housing which allows the sculpture to rotate like a weather vane. The sculpture sits on top of a ten foot brick column. A blue glazed brick spirals around the column, suggesting movement. A seat running around the base of the column invites people to use the sculpture as a meeting place.