Over the 20 years of the Haslemere Festival and 10 years of the Haslemere Fringe Festival, we have strived to bring all forms of the arts to Haslemere, but by the nature of a Festival, these have been transient and have been showcased for just the duration of the Festivals. However, now and thanks to a local benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, we are able to bring four contemporary works of art to Haslemere, which will have a lasting presence for many years to come and which hopefully will become iconic to Haslemere.
To accommodate this artwork, the four ‘Planters in the Sky’ situated throughout Haslemere, in the High Street, Petworth Road, Clements Corner and Lion Green, which over the years have been sadly neglected, are being given a new lease of life. The bowls at the top are being cleared of the dead plants and replaced with bespoke works of art, designed by Andrew Brighty a local blacksmith and made at his forge in Dockenfield, just a couple of miles from Haslemere.
The first of these works of art is called progress and was installed in the Planter in the Sky in the High Street in January 2020. The finish has been galvanised, acid etched and waxed which gives a good contrast to the black planter.
The hot forged flowing tops of the I-Beams represent a return to craftsmanship and quality, both of workmanship and of life, whilst also being reminiscent of fabric blowing in the wind – a link to the Haslemere Weaving Industries and Peasant Arts Society.
The second work of art called ‘Mimesis’ was installed in the Planter in the Sky at Clements Corner / Fosters Bridge in August 2020 and represents certain properties of plants or flowers, which we see all around us in Haslemere and encourages you the viewer to use your imagination. It is like reading a poem about a flower, where you conjure your image of the flower in your own mind, which could be wildly different to another person’s image. So how will you see it. Again it has been forged and fabricated in steel.
The next work of art is to be installed in the Planter in the Sky at Lion Green and will reflect the music events that are held on the Green. An initial draft is shown here on the left.