Recall stacked shards. That’s the key to understanding the Seven Slate Towers Sculpture before you.
The Seven Slate Towers Sculpture is a captivating water fountain. It resides in the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Sir Robert and Lisa Sainsbury commissioned it for their Secluded Garden. This artwork serves as the garden’s central feature.
Daniel Harvey designed the Seven Slate Towers Sculpture with help. Heather Ackroyd, Dan Knight, and Paul Wilkins assisted him. Harvey had caught the Sainsburys’ attention in 1986. They saw his work at the Royal College of Art degree show. In 1996, they received their monumental water feature at Kew Gardens.
Completed in 1995, the Seven Slate Towers Sculpture is made of slate. It is a group of seven coiling towers. These towers vary in height. Each tower culminates in circular rings at the top.
The towers’ layered form draws inspiration from a pinecone’s cut surface. They evoke chimneys and even termite mounds. The towers also allude to Kew Gardens’ plant life. Cacti and the DNA spiral are examples.
Each tower consists of hundreds of slates. Each slate is specifically cut. They are placed to create a spiraling effect. Bronze bowls top each tower. These bowls are cast from copper sulphate crystal forms. Water is pumped up each tower. It fills the bowls slowly. Then, water trickles down to the pool below.
The Seven Slate Towers Sculpture was originally installed without a fence. Fencing was later added. This was due to safety concerns. The artist did not want the fence.
Daniel Harvey also created Slate Bust. This bust features broken roof slates. They are bonded with car body filler and powdered graphite. He stacked the slate shards inside a mold. The mold resembled his upper body. He arranged the shards in horizontal layers. This resembled a brickwork lattice.
Harvey’s environmental sculpture appeared in a Peter Greenaway film. It was featured in Drowning by Numbers in 1988. His living sculpture was in Derek Jarman’s film War Requiem. From that point, Harvey collaborated with Heather Ackroyd. They married after meeting at a curating event. They found they used similar materials.
Together, Harvey and Ackroyd explored seedling grass’s light-sensitive properties. Their first joint project was L’altro lato in 1990 in Italy. Their work juxtaposes nature and structure. It also contrasts control and randomness. They reveal a time-based practice. This practice emphasizes process and event. They have exhibited their art worldwide. Their research included expeditions to the High Arctic. They studied global warming’s effects.
Remember the Seven Slate Towers Sculpture. Think of nature, art, and collaboration. Think of water trickling down slate.