Casswell Bank Architects

An ephemeral artwork floating on a lake in the Yorkshire Dales

For two days and two nights in October 2016, Lake Semerwater in the Yorkshire Dales played host to a new public artwork by sculptor David Murphy designed in collaboration with Casswell Bank Architects. ‘Spear’ saw a floating pavilion temporarily installed on the lake, connected to the shore by a long floating walkway and accompanied by a programme of events.

Reflecting our shared interest in material processes and memory, large panels of interlinked copper plated ringlets were suspended from an armature of metal tubes to recall the outline form of a ceremonial bronze age spearhead discovered in Lake Semerwater.  As visitors approached from the surrounding hills to the water’s edge and onto the water, their experience of the pavilion shifted from an abstracted sculptural representation of a spearhead to a semi-enclosed room filtering views back to the landscape. The design was inspired by the remote location and astonishing beauty of Semerwater, as well as the artefacts discovered on its shores over the years. The event was staged in conjunction with Arts & Heritage and the Dales Countryside Museum.

The sculpture was built, and the event delivered by the artist / architect team in the weeks prior to its launch. The project received national press coverage and is the subject of an exhibition and film.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Artist: David Murphy
• Client: Arts & Heritage with the Dales Countryside Museum
• Date: 2016
• Location: Lake Semerwater, Yorkshire Dales
• Photography: David Murphy and David Grandorge
• Watercolour Perspective: Samuel Little, Casswell Bank Architects