Kielder Castle – Castles, Follies and Elephants

Castles, Follies and Elephants is a commission for a temporary installation of follys the grounds of Kielder Castle in Northumberland with the excellent Kielder Arts and Architecture.  The project, which is being developed in collaboration with artist Oliver Perry,  will comprise a series of ‘objects’ installed within the landscape surrounding the castle over the summer 2017.  Each object has been derived in reference to buildings and landscapes which tell a story of the region as one of the last great infrastructure projects.  The project has successfully received Arts Council funding.

Peel-tower-folly
Kielder-Observatory-folly

Work on the project will commence in early 2017 with each installation being fabricated off-site. The follys will be assembled predominantly from timber carcassing, framed in plywood and in some instances finished in through-colour fibreglass resin for durability in the extreme conditions of the forest. The works will range from small to large, walkable and climbable strucutres that visitors can fully immerse themselves in, fram The finished work will be installed late summer 2017 and be open and free to access in the grounds of the Castle. The team will be publishing a map and project overview to elaborate the follies accompany the visitors.

Kielder Arts and Architecture is a visual art programme initiated by the Kielder Partnership, a forerunner of the Kielder Water & Forest Park Development Trust that now runs the programme. Over the past 16 years they have worked to reflect on the landscape around the reservoir & forest park to create a home for a unique collection of visual art and architecture with artists such as James Turrell, Wolfgang Weileder and Tania Kovats and architects such as David Adjeye, Charles Barclay and Studio Weave.

Share Post :