The Balance of Things

by David Bethell

David Bethell was commissioned by Urban Wilderness CIC to create a temporary sculpture for Longton. His sculpture is intended to represent hope that the town will grow and start to thrive with more regeneration.

David says "my initial research for the project involved looking at the history of Longton - the architecture, buildings, the pottery and some of the key people that drove Longton forward.

I was drawn to the decorative stones on the buildings, such as the town hall. I also discovered romantic images on some of the Aynsley china, depicting renaissance style paintings of an Italian folly, being produced in a working class town during the industrial revolution. I’m interested in the imagery and the symbols of ‘hope’ and how that relates to the current town of Longton."

David's sculpture depicts 'ruins' similar to the designs found on Aynsley pottery, with one main pillar holding up several stones. It has been created from wood, metal rods, polystyrene, fibreglass, resin, and paint.

David says "there is one stone that appears to be defying gravity and staying upright. It’s only attached by one of the sides of the stone - it's ‘balanced’ and giving the impression it could fall at any moment. This is my symbol for ‘hope’.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

David Bethell is an artist based in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire. He constructs sculpture that often represent machines or contraptions that show impossible things. A sense of futility, disbelief, humour, hope, magic, endurance, imperfections and empathy can all be seen within his work.