'Synergy' Sculpture Installation - Working Together
‘Synergy’ detail - Abigail Brown
‘Synergy is a new installation I have created for the Stone Lane Garden Sculpture Exhibition 2022.
‘Synergy’ is inspired by the Flavoparmelia caperata, or Common Green Shield, variety of lichen. This lichen can be found growing in abundance within the landscapes of Dartmoor and Cornwall, particularly on the trees, ancient standing stones and sacred sites of Northern Europe.
Lichen is symbiotic – two or more life forms living in mutually beneficial union. This symbiosis symbolises the relationship our ancestors, who built the standing stones, had with the land. They were once living in harmony with the land, in a symbiotic and nurturing relationship.
The lichen has become a metaphor for how we could be living more sustainably within the landscape and our environment – to instigate unconditional reciprocity with the land on which we walk.
The term synergy comes from the Attic Greek word synergos, meaning "working together" - the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or elements to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
‘Synergy’ is intended to sit gently within the landscape, honouring its surroundings. The design is adapted from original lichen drawings, cut in copper, and then hammered, textured, and manipulated using ancestral metalwork techniques that date back to the Bronze Age. The copper will patinate over time, changing colour in response to the environment in which it is situated.
‘Synergy’ at Stone Lane Gardens, Devon - Abigail Brown
Cut, hammered, patinated
Copper, stainless steel wire
2022
Abigail installing ‘Synergy’ at Stone Lane Gardens, Devon