As a contribution to the National “2000 — Year of the Artist” celebrations and with funding from South West Arts, the Forestry Commission and Arnolfini Collection Trust, the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust commissioned Neville Gabie to make a new permanent work “Raw” and commissioned new temporary works from Reinhild Beuther, Philip Reilly and Stefan Gec.
Neville Gabie, the lead artist in the projects writes:
“When I first visited the forest several years ago, I was seduced by the verdant landscape of trees and sheep roaming freely. But scratch the surface and what is revealed is a unique place, shaped significantly by an industrial heritage of extensive coal mining, iron and brickwork and the production of chemicals associated with wood. Likewise, its towns and their inhabitants, have as much in common with areas of industrial Britain as they do with a rural tradition. And the forest itself, which has a history stretching way back in time, has been the constant umbrella under-which all this activity has flourished. Since the decline of those industries however, tourism increasingly plays a significant part in sustaining forest communities.
Artists first began to work within the forest in the early nineteen-eighties and it was anticipated then that they might help reawaken an interest in the area and interpret its landscape, whilst developing their own practice beyond the confines of a studio. ‘This may best be started by an awakening of all the senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell in a woodland setting and by recognition of the primeval provision which forests have made to man down the centuries of, mystery, religion, poetry, shelter, fuel, food and drink.’
This project, which has been funded through the Arts Council “Year of the Artist” programme and continued funding and support from the Arnolfini Collection Trust, has been the first opportunity to add new work to the trail for several years. As an artist, I feel strongly that for the sculpture trail to build on its success, it needs to continue to engage the interest of contemporary artists and arts practice. Likewise, contemporary artists have a significant role to play in interpreting and understanding a constantly evolving landscape through temporary and permanent work and through a range of media.
It is the extraordinary diversity of the Forest of Dean which makes it such a fascinating place for visitors and I hope the artists selected for this project have reflected some of that richness, through their practice.”
See Neville Gabie: Raw
See Reinhild Beuther: Abschied vom Walde / Farewell to the Forest