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Order and Chaos |
artist(s):
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David Annand |
| location |
Port Talbot [south Wales] |
| completed |
April 2002 |
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Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council carried out a number of environmental improvements to Port Talbot town centre in the late 90s and the beginning of this century. One commission which formed an important central piece to these improvements and drew on the town's rich industrial and social history was Order and Chaos by Scottish artist David Annand.
The idea and ispiration behind David Annand's work is the comparison between making sculpture and making steel. Both require creating order out of chaos. A sculptor takes the raw materials and wrestles with them until they become the desired shape - he makes more mess and chaos in the process but order has been achieved. So it is a double edged sword, as waste presents new chaos, and now the technology that created the mess can cure it, and then again order is created out of chaos. |
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Picking up a pile of planks, cuddling them as they fan out and change shape, as your grasp becomes less and less effective. For Annand, this is the moment when everything is beautiful and in order, just before chaos takes over. The strong figure holding these planks is a celebration of the sheer physical achievements of the steel intustry. The piece is made entirely of stainless steel. Each plank has a line of poetry by Sally Jones sandblasted into the surface.
Deep in the earth lies the fire of suns:
Asleep till man reaches to wake it.
Golden and red, dragon flames swallow the air:
Copper and iron are rivers, flowing to earth.
Ores melt in the couldron of making:
People melt into village and town.
Copper and iron tame the wastes of the world:
Rails carry our children to glory!
We harness the earth till thunder rips it apart:
Smelts pain in the broken furnace.
Tall on the earth is our city:
Strong in the earth is our blood. |
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Cywaith Cymru . Artworks Wales managed the project for Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. As the national organisation for public art in Wales it works closely with clients, advising on the selection of appropriate sites and managing the whole commission process from the selection of artists, preparing contracts and overseeing the programme of work.
More information and other documentation
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