I Collected All The Articles That Wrote About Periwinkle Sculpture At Medmerry Nature Reserve

Faeces or Flair: Chichester Sculpture Garners Mixed Reviews.

By Calla Mitchell. HASTA, the history of art magazine affiliated with the University of St Andrews’ School of Art History.

Mark and Rebecca Ford, Periwinkle Shelter, 2024, Chichester.

Faeces or flair? A newly erected public art sculpture, dubbed the Periwinkle Shelter, 2024, has sparked serious controversy amongst locals. The fifteen-foot spiral structure, a project to mark the rich coastal heritage of Bracklesham Bay, near Chichester, has instead been compared to a ‘giant poo emoji.’ Situated on the Medmerry Reserve, the 6,000 GBP ‘load of shit’ also denotes one of Europe’s largest coastal realignment schemes. In response to the uproar, Artists Mark and Rebecca Ford stated, ‘art can be controversial, and things can be ambiguous.’ In other words, although upon first sighting the façade may be smelly, the meaning of the work stretches far wider.

More info: twocirclesdesign.co.uk

Visitors to the sculpture have likened it to a ‘giant poo emoji.’
Image courtesy of The Telegraph.
The sculpture’s conical design, rooted in symbolic meaning, charges the work with a distinguished historical significance. Whilst Local Resident Sally Everett, remarked that she found ‘the idea of marking the rich coastal heritage of the south coast with a giant poo emoji’ to be ‘hilarious’, the artists intentions are much more sophisticated. The structure’s design, which mimics the periwinkle, the sea snail from which the sculpture’s namesake is derived, harkens back to the Bronze Age. More specifically, the Fords’ structure recalls the snails found within a fish basket, circa 1100 BCE, found during an agricultural excavation on the reserve.
Woven from willow branches, the sculpture’s organic medium embodies its surrounding landscape of salt marshes and mudflats, recalling land artists such as Robert Smithson and Richard Long as well as themes of climate consciousness. Furthermore, this sensitive and mindful medium promotes Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘organic architecture’ philosophy; Wright’s theory advocates for harmony between humanity and the environment, utilising architecture as a language to forge the gaps. Likewise, the Periwinkle Shelter personifies the relationship between human and habitat through medium and design.

Upon entering the organic space, the participant is invited to observe the sky through ‘cloud windows’ of silhouetted marsh hares and birds of prey. This immersive quality reminds the engager of their environment and to, as Wright instructed, ‘study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.’ Rebecca Ford also calls for introspection, specifically surrounding climate change, stating, ‘if people see the shape of a poo, maybe that’s a metaphor for what we’re doing to our coastline, just allowing poo to be spilled into it.’
Finally, the shelter also evokes its predecessor, the 1960s and 70s conceptual art movement Land Art. This involved the sole use of natural materials or of sculpting the earth itself. In a sense, the landscape becomes the artist’s paint and their hands the brush. Temporality is suggested too; unlike manufactured costly material, here the artists use raw and mutable ingredients. In reaction to this interactive process, one may be led to consider the mark they leave and our primal engagement with the earth. Could we go so far as to suggest the shelter may imply memento mori, the Christian symbolic reminder of inevitable death?
Despite its controversy, Periwinkle Shelter beckons others to immerse themselves in the local area embracing the environment’s rich history and natural beauty. In response to the poo commentary, Mark Ford invites sceptics to ‘come down to the nature reserve, sit inside the Periwinkle Shelter and make their own view of it.’ From glimpsing at your screen, what will it be for you? Faeces or flair?

Bibliography:
Telegraph Reporters. ‘Snail Sculpture that Cost £6,000 Looks Like ‘Poo Emoji’, Locals Say.’ Accessed November 27, 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/19/snail-sculpture-chichester-looks-like-giant-poo-emoji/?ICID=continue_without_subscribing_reg_first

Nicholson, Savannah. ‘People Say New Chichester Sculpture Looks Like a Poo.’ Accessed November 27, 2024, https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24731976.people-say-new-chichester-sculpture-looks-like-poo/

Kintuka, Holly. ‘Locals Fume as Council Spend £6k on Huge Snail Sculpture – Which ‘Actually Looks Like a Poo’.’ Accessed November 27, 2024, https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1977893/sculpture-giant-poo-Medmerry-Nature-Reserve

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracklesham_Bay

Locals embrace Medmerry’s Giant Periwinkle being described as a 'giant poo'
By Carolyn Aldred
Contributor
Published 19th Nov 2024, 15:41 GMT

A 4-metre-high woven willow sculpture of a Periwinkle opened last week on the edge of the Medmerry Nature Reserve is attracting a notoriety that is sure to make it a much-loved attraction, residents say.
The stunning new artwork, created to commemorate Medmerry’s tenth anniversary, has already been featured in the Sun Newspaper because of its likeness, in shape, to a poo emoji. But the publicity surrounding the sculpture is being embraced by residents who regard it as positive for the area.

“I find the Periwinkle absolutely stunning – a beautiful and thought-provoking symbol of our unique coastline, blending art, nature and conservation in one of the UK’s most celebrated environmental projects,” said Izabela Mayne, referring to the creation of Medmerry, which was Europe’s largest coastal realignment scheme, when it opened in 2013.

“If some see it as resembling a poo, this only makes it a fitting metaphor for our community’s ongoing fight against Southern Water’s failures and the broader neglect of our coastal environment by the water companies. Far from ridicule, it should be a wake-up call to appreciate and protect our precious coastlines before they are overwhelmed by both rising tides and poor governance,” Izabela added.

“Medmerry is a tranquil and beautiful area, and the Periwinkle is a stunning and remarkable addition to this amazing place. The windows through it, including the one in the shape of the Marsh Harrier, provide spectacular views of the changing skies and wetlands. It is a place to listen and watch nature in peace,” said Diana Strange, whose family farmed the area for decades.

“As Rodin said “all in nature is beautiful” and all publicity is good! The Sun commenting on art is like Gardeners World commenting on Crypto Currency. Art is decisive and should evoke emotive response of some kind. Good or bad, it gets people talking,” said resident Melissa Sharp, who is studying for a master’s in fine art at West Dean College.

“Medmerry was created as a response to the threat of climate change to our low-lying coast. By breaking through the shingle banks and creating wonderful new wetlands we provided a more sustainable form of coastal defence, provided new habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, and a tourist attraction to help the local economy,” said Carolyn Cobbold, Project Leader for the Manhood Peninsula Partnership.

“If one of the community-based art installations created to celebrate its anniversary has inadvertently highlighted another major threat to our area, the issue of sewage pollution in our coastal waters, then that may be a good thing,” she said, pointing out that the structure is “sublimely beautiful.”

“I have no doubt that the Medmerry Periwinkle will become a treasured local landmark,” she said.

The Sun described the artwork, which cost £6000, as a waste of taxpayers money. However, while the Culture Spark project was administered by Chichester District Council it did not cost residents anything, with part of the sponsorship provided by Southern Water.

The Periwinkle Shelter is located at the southwest edge of Medmerry, allowing visitors to survey the whole nature reserve. Woven from Sussex willow by environmental artists Rebecca and Mark Ford, of Two Circles Design. The inspiration for the design were the periwinkles found in the remains of an ancient medieval fish basket, part of the Middle and Bronze Age discoveries made by archaeological excavations during the creation of the Medmerry Nature Reserve.

One of the other installations is a Soundscape made by Splodge Designs, in which walkers can scan a QR code and listen to the sounds of the nature reserve with stories and descriptions from residents, including those involved in Medmerry’s creation. Nearer to Selsey is a Timelapse Installation by Jakub Bors which encourages visitors to upload photos from one spot onto a website to create a timelapse record of how the new wetlands area develops through the years. Leaflets describing the art installations and a map are available at the RSPB Pagham Visitor Centre.