Paul's Tower
Siting a New Sculpture

16 August 2000 Paul's Tower is a new work and represents my most recent foray into public sculpture. I am now searching for the site which is most appropriate to it. The same site needs to benefit from having a work of this scale and content accommodated in it.

I believe that there are several such sites either immediately in Sydney, or in the western part of Sydney. There are also sites closer to the perimeter of Sydney which may be enhanced by the work. At this stage I am casting a wide net to determine what the options are.

The work was made without a particular site in mind. It was made out of a continuing fascination with letters and words carved out of material and it was made out of a love of working at a large scale without the restrictions of particular sites and commissioners.

It was made out of a love of extending the range and scope of sculpture by keeping an open-ended process and leaving room for surprise. It was made out of a love of Sydney and a determination to give shape (or name) to what we are, without embarrassment or modesty.

It was made out of a determination to seize an opportunity rather than wait for one. The work is an individual response and hopefully therefore potentially a collective one.

The site most suitable for the work is the site that would most benefit from accommodating it. Because of its height it has the ability to give focus to a space, to help to make that space a place. It has a fairly long range visibility and legibility. I have invited a more intimate experience of the work by making it enterable at ground level. The best site therefore would be on open ground , but also close to pedestrian traffic.

More than this however the best site would be the site that most reflects the spirit in which the work was made. I need to find the home for the work; the host in which the sculpture might take root.

I would prefer to lease the work rather than sell it which may expand the options for where it might go. The site would cover the cost of transport, lighting and installation, however, all of that is negotiable.

I have montaged the work into open ground to give an idea of scale and effect. The sculpture might also work well in a more built-up environment. I would like to meet with parties responsive to the work and to my approach.

© Michael Snape 1973-2008