Bramerton sculpture is unveiled

In a ceremony on Thursday April 28, the sculpture Zenith, was unveiled on Bramerton Common.

As part of South Norfolk Council’s Celestial Festival in October 2003 artist Barry Mason was selected by Bramerton Parish Council to work with the community to create a piece of permanent artwork for siting on Bramerton Common. The aim was to design a sculpture to celebrate the dark skies and be a visual metaphor to encourage residents to switch off unnecessary lighting.

It has been designed to enable spectators to view the beauty of the night sky - in the daytime!

Harrison Manley-Shaw, aged 12, from Bramerton was the first person to test it out. As he stepped onto the plinth and looked up he was awestruck:

“Wow, I can see the plough and there’s the North Star…. it’s really great!” he said.

Other guests included Bramerton Parish Councillor Geoff Shaw who cut the ribbon, Mark Lawrik-Thompson Chairman of the Norwich Astronomical Society, South Norfolk Council’s Cabinet member for Culture and Learning Councillor Jane Walker, and the council’s new Head of Leisure Services, Chris Cook.

Chris Cook said:

“Zenith is one of a series of sculptures creating a trail of public art across the Southern Broads. Our newly adopted Arts Strategy will deliver a wide range of arts and cultural activities throughout South Norfolk. We aim to encourage, motivate and inspire all ages and abilities to develop and celebrate their creative skills by providing community focused, quality arts product.

“While Arts and Cultural provision will always provide interesting debate, it is evident that the benefits associated with participation and involvement are “wider than art” in terms of health, well being, community identity and enjoyment.

“Zenith is a fantastic piece of work – and well worth a visit. Thank you to the people of Bramerton who helped with the design and to Seething Obervatory where Barry Mason was artist in residence during the Celestial Festival and from where he drew his inspiration.”

Heidi Hadley, Cultural Regeneration Manager explained the design in more detail:

“Zenith was inspired in response to the waterside location, perceptions of the Parish Council and other residents and assisted by usage of the Observatory’s equipment.

“It is a design that reflects the site, mimicking the structure of trees and referencing wherry masts and fishing rods. Comprising a 6ft diameter copper disc, with drilled holes, which represent all the major stars in the northern hemisphere. The diameter of each hole corresponds to the brightness of the individual stars.”

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