These interactive sculptures were made to be played with! The block game above was made for Windmill Hill City Farm in Bristol in 2019. All of the timbers used were reclaimed and the whole thing has been built to last. I really enjoyed the chance to paint the relief carvings and it was great to see that it all worked well and the colours were still bright after two years of being played with in all kinds of British weather:
Nearby is another interactive installation, which was installed in 2021. This one includes a wheel that turns to reveal information about the herbs which are planted around it.
My favourite part is the crescent of herbs on the wheel itself, which were carved in relief and then painted with the same durable paints as the block game.
A similar design was used to create another interactive board for the farm, which was installed in 2023. This shows which fruit and vegetables are ready to be harvested for each month of the year.
Not all the interactive artworks are only meant to be touched or looked at: some can also be played because they are musical instruments! These ones were made using reclaimed materials and were installed between the pre-existing planters at St Werburghs Community Centre in 2018.
The knowledge gained while making these instruments was later used when designing another musical sculpture, in collaboration with Dr Irina Lazar, for the ‘Creative Reactions’ exhibitions that took place in Bristol in 2019. It is called ‘Potted Plant Percussion‘ and is now in the permanent collection of the University of Bristol.