Sarah Staton, Alphonso, wood-fired brick and bespoke hand paintings, 2021
London-based artist Sarah Staton is creating a folly for Milton Keynes. Entitled Alphonso,it is located in Newton Leys, which straddles the boundaries of Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. It takes its inspiration from multiple strands of local heritage, and is sited on a mound beside a lake and surrounded by a new housing development, which was originally a brickworks.
Staton’s work has become increasingly prominent and admired in the UK over the past decade,presenting a beguiling mixture of traditional craft techniques with cutting edge technology. Her grounded sculptural forms occupy an edgy aesthetic territory between use value and sheer visual pleasure. She has created large-scale works for the Folkestone Triennial in 2014, and a brickwork sculpture, Edith and Hans, for Bristol University in 2016, a work that was conceived as being somewhere between a ruin and an archaeological find.
Alphonso forms part of Milton Keynes Council’s ongoing Public Art commissioning programme— since the town’s inception in the 1960s, more than 250 artworks have been created, all of them within the public realm. Alphonso is the most recent addition to this ongoing commitment to the Council’s ambitious and strategic public art commissioning initiative.
Alphonso is a triangular, three-sided structure built from wood-fired brick and incorporates a bespoke hand-painted tiled wall inspired by Azulejos tiling, depicting the local area, its wildlife and history. It is sited on a spot called Little Callow Mound, Willow Lake, Newton Leys, Bucks and includes a decorative archway and seating area, which overlooks Willow Lake and the environment around it.
Staton worked closely with the Newton Leys Public Art Commission Steering Group when developing the work. The process involved a visit to Rushton Lodge, a triangular folly designed by Sir Thomas Tresham in the 14th Century, as well as H.G. Matthews, which supplied the bricks for the artwork. She also visited Newton Leys Primary School where she led a drawing workshop. Staton describes developing the artwork as ‘a design process that begins with imagination. Once the idea of the form had appeared in my mind’s eye, I began to think about the images that would adorn the sculpture’.
One essential part of the commission was to reference the brick-making history of Newton Leys and how it is today. Staton says: ‘Early on in the design process, I thought Alphonso would look most interesting if handmade bricks were used on the east elevation, creating a richly nuanced speckled brown surface, and that this would be complemented with fresh blue and white tiles on the west side. The lake is referenced pictorially. I had been very struck by the way that blue and white tiling is used on cathedrals and churches in Portugal to create the illusion of transparency when viewed from a distance against the sky.’
Staton had included elements that would appeal to various age groups. There are pictures and textures for children, an archway to pass through, and a small bench for residents and visitors who might like to take in and enjoy the views across Willow Lake. Input by local residents was equally important. For example, one noticed that you can quickly find triangles in the letters, N W N, L,and Y, so the triangular form of the sculpture appears pictorially within the name Newton Leys, and Alphonso provides a mirroring between name and form. The artwork’s name is a reference to the many Italians who worked at the brickworks.
Concludes Staton: ‘With its fine location, so much thought, discussion and research going into the design and build process, I hope that Alphonso will be enjoyed by the community for years to come.
For press information please contact Albany Arts Communications:
Carla von der Becke
carla@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: + 44 (0) 79 74 25 29 94
Mark Inglefield
mark@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: + 44 (0) 75 84 19 95 00
Notes to Editors
About Sarah Staton
Sarah Staton works in series and has long been interested in creating multiples and editions that open the work to wider markets. She creates artworks in a variety of media and scale for a range of contexts. Her work is located within the domestic, the exhibition, the book and the public realm. Staton’s work is held in the Arts Council England, British Museum Prints and Drawings, MIMA, South London Gallery and in private collections internationally. She is Senior Tutor in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art. Recent exhibitions include: THE ESTATE (2019), Kim? Contemporary Art Center, Latvia;Salon Saloon(2019), Cubitt Studios, London; Studio eine Phantastik (2018), Shedhalle, Zurich; and Fish Finger Sandwich (2018), Art Night 2018, London. Recent and ongoingpublic commissions include Acton, Hammersmith and Fulham — three sites on the London SuperSewer, (2017-2020); Edith and Hans(2016), University of Bristol;Bella and Max(2015), Teesside University; and Steve(2014), Folkestone Triennial.
About Milton Keynes Council
Milton Keynes Council’s Culture team supports the growth and development of the city’s cultural offer, taking a strategic lead on the delivery of the Creative and Cultural Strategy 2018 –2027. They are responsible for managing the city’s Culture Grant-Aid portfolio and the cultural infrastructure capital investment programme. The team also support and deliver an ongoing public art commissioning programme. The Culture team has the mandate to develop and deliver strategic cultural projects, programmes and commissions, often working in partnership and collaboration. These initiatives are developed to ensure that culture makes a real difference to the quality of lives of residents and visitors and contributes to the ongoing success of Milton Keynes
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