Sculpture park comes to life as nature is the new leading artist
‘It looks spectacular... it’s overgrown, the flowers are out and the rabbits have taken over’
ITS 500 green acres, clipped and manicured, are as much an attraction for day trippers as the works of art dotted across them.
But when the people left, nature began to claim back Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
A glimpse inside, as staff trickled back to work and began preparing it for reopening, revealed a vastly different landscape.
“It actually looks quite spectacular in lockdown. It’s overgrown, the flowers are out and the bunnies have taken over,” said Hannah Pearson, marketing manager at the estate, which in four decades has established itself as one of world’s most distinctive exhibition spaces.
Because it is a park, many would-be visitors had assumed during the nice weather last month that it was open for socially distanced strolling.
“Sadly, that was not the case,” said Ms Pearson. “We’re a park but not a public park. We’re an accredited museum. So when the Prime Minister said public parks could open, it didn’t include us.”
Instead, many of the staff went on furlough, leaving just a handful to look after security and pursue grants for emergency funding from the Arts Council.
When the absentees returned, the seasons had changed.
“The grass was incredibly high and we had to adjust the machinery to make it a bit more tenable,” said Will Poppleton, an operations worker on the estate.
“A lot of the wildlife has benefited from not having us mow everywhere. It’s most noticeable at the lakes – you can see a lot of avian activity. But it’s been a shame to see it so empty, particularly in the fine weather. We can’t wait for it to reopen.”
Andrew McCallum, the park’s operations manager, said as he dusted Damien Hirst’s unicorn sculpture Myth with a garden brush: “It’s been a paradise. It still is a paradise. But it could do with some water.”
Reopening will be in phases, with a likely limit on the number of car-parking spaces and the extensive indoor galleries remaining shut for longest.
“People want to know the details and we’re pleased that we’re at last getting to the point when we can start telling them,” Ms Pearson said.
The financial implications will take longer to assess, she added.
“This is our busiest time of year, especially given the nice weather. The money we make in spring and summer carries us through to autumn and we will need to consider the knock-on effect. We have a team looking at fundraising and what’s available to us.”
A lot of wildlife has benefited from not having us mow everywhere.
Will Poppleton, an operations worker at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.