Shelia Hicks
Shelia Hicks
Woven Wonders
Installation, 2022
Public realm curation and commissioning for Coal Drops Yards, ‘Woven Wonders’ was a monumental outdoor site-specific installation by Sheila Hicks, coinciding with her first UK museum retrospective, ‘Off Grid’, at The Hepworth Wakefield.
Responding to the carefully restored Victorian architecture, and the space created between the buildings, Hicks made a vast, floating sculpture which transformed Coal Drops Yard into an intertwined environment of colour and moving forms. As with much of her work, soft materials have been repurposed to take on a new life. Hicks's sculpture in the air converses with natural forces including wind, rain, sunshine, clouds, shifting shadows and glimpses of sun rays; providing a space to walk around, chase shadows, sit, read or contemplate.
Once installed we immediately noticed a trend of visitors spontaneously dancing under the ribbons, reacting to this we coordinated a lively programme of dance events, including a partnership with Sadler's Wells for their Flamenco season.
On decommissioning, the Sunbrella materials used were fully recycled through the Recycle My Sunbrella program. Since its inception, Recycle My Sunbrella has collected more than one million pounds of fabric that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.
The project was co-curated with Rebecca Heald and supported by Alison Jacques Gallery and The Hepworth Wakefield.
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