Kentish Express Ashford & District
Artist’s abstract ‘river’ along Bank Street
The Flume was designed by Australian artist and sculptor Simeon Nelson, who was given a fee of £11,600 for his work on its creation.
Mr Nelson has been commissioned to produce art across the globe, including works in London, Melbourne and New York and is currently working on projects in Australia, the UK and Europe.
He is also professor of sculpture at the University of Hertfordshire.
Of The Flume design, he said: “The artwork that resulted from my appointment, Flume, was the product of a process of deconstruction and analysis of the natural riparian and manmade drainage systems of Ashford.
“Flume celebrates local natural characteristics of the Stour system and Ashford’s intimate historical relationship with its rivers.
“It expresses water management as an integral and visible part of the public realm and seeks to reveal and celebrate the normally hidden processes of rainwater collection, conveyance, treatment, use and disposal.
“Flume is an abstracted diagrammatic ‘river’ that runs the length of Bank Street.
“Flume is a calligraphic motif that is simultaneously embedded in and separate from the surrounding streetscape. It has both organic and artificial aspects that question the demarcation between the natural river system of the town.”