“It’s coning home” public art installation rehomed

UCA is proud to welcome the twenty cones home to their new location and looks forward to visitors, including its students, cone-ecting with them: spinning, tapping, and winding their way through them. 

The installation, A Hand’s Turn, was a collaboration between artists Natalie Bradwell and Livia Spinolo, Farnham Town Council, UCA, Farnham Maltings, New Ashgate Gallery and the Farnham Public Arts Trust, made possible by developer contributions from the construction of new student accommodation at UCA. The project involved many individuals young and old in marking the metal sheets at community workshops.

The previous location of the artwork raised a few concerns, with some calling it ‘ugly’ and an ‘eyesore’, and the cones suffered damage from vandals.

It is hoped that the new home adjacent to UCA, which is set in an existing public art space will celebrate craft and Farnham’s history, making it a more suitable site.

Artist Natalie Bradwell, wracked with guilt and disappointment that the cones were vandalised in their previous location, said she was “grateful to get a second chance”. She worked on renovating the cones, smoothing out the dents vandals made and restoring their golden sheen, which had weathered and deepened over time, but the patina became darker than expected.

“The dents have been corrected using slide hammers and climbing inside the cones to hammer them out,” she described. “They were also cleaned, polished, and lacquered – the patina now permanently gold (compared to the original brass coating).

“I hope locals find a new affection for the cones in their new home. They are intended to be played with, hugged and even the unintended percussive ability they provide is great fun.

“What a special place Farnham is for its commitment to craft and community. Farnham didn’t give up on the cones, so neither will I.”

Katie Weston, a BA (Hons) Jewellery & Silversmithing student, said: “The texture of the hammer work is really nice to run your hands along, and the fact that they are so interactive is really lovely for a public display.”

The cone is one of the oldest and most enduring shapes in human visual culture. From the geometry explored by artists and modern sculptors to church spires, and cultural objects such as Madonna’s cone bra, the pointed hat of witches, and the humble ice cream cone. It is a shape that captures attention and encourages movement around it.

“In Farnham, the cone carries additional significance through the towns malting, pottery and kiln-making heritage, which originally inspired the artists, explained Sophy Smith, Executive Dean at UCA’s Farnham School of Creative and Cultural Industries.

“By turning a historic architectural motif into something that ends up feeling part pop-culture legend or part futuristic design, proves that a true artist’s role isn’t to hand us finished meaning and that public art is, at its absolute best, when it stops taking itself too seriously.”

Outi Remes, the Director of New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham, commented: “We welcome the opportunity for ‘A Hand’s Turn’ to be seen again in a setting where it can be properly experienced and understood, which feels very relevant to Farnham’s identity as a World Craft Town – the relocation will give the piece a fresh and positive context.”

The artwork joins a handful of other public artworks in the Sculpture Garden, including the most recent art installation, a community brick wall project called ‘The Owl on the Other Side (of the Fishy Tale)’ by a former UCA tutor and alum, Keppel Nowson, now working as an artist in Surrey.

Mayor of Farnham, Councillor Graham White, commented: “The new home for ‘A Hands Turn’ sculpture is very fitting next to the Craft Study Centre and UCA and will be an inspiration for future generations of makers alongside existing artworks.”

The official rehoming of A Hand’s Turn was assembled in time for the launch event of Farnham’s October Craft Month, hosted by UCA in Farnham on 3 October. For more information visit uca.ac.uk/craft-month-launch.