Fragile Connection

Fragile Connection was created for the third annual exhibition at the Caol Ruadh Sculpture Park in Argyll in 2014 and returned in 2017 following the re-landscaping of the gardens.

The house and gardens of Caol Ruadh lie on a bed of metamorphosed Dalradian rock formed during the Precambrian period. Now, some 540 million years later, there's a rich diversity of fauna and flora blanketing the entire area, stretching down to the shoreline of the Kyles of Bute.

The inspiration for Fragile Connection came from the rocky outcrops that emerge from the landscape. Walking between the moss and grass covered boulders it's striking just how thin this covering is; having been torn away from the rock in places revealing skeletal white gaps. Such is the fragile connection between the earth’s oldest and its youngest materials.

Fragile Connection is a reminder of this fragility; the fine balance that exists across the earth’s ecosystems and the outcome were this equilibrium to be lost.

The three steel rock sculptures making up Fragile Connection are constructed from Corten steel, a steel alloy whose chemical composition gives it increased resistance to atmospheric corrosion making it well suited for outdoor sculpture. When exposed to the elements it very quickly develops a rusty, oxidised surface protecting the metal beneath.

Fragile Connection is on loan to a private collector in Stirling.

Materials – Corten steel