Cassell’s connection with the Wakefield Art Gallery and Museum dates back to 2007 with the commission for a solo exhibition (one of the final shows to be held at these premises) and to create a piece for acquisition towards the celebration of the commissioning of The Hepworth Wakefield.
Fan Construction (cold-cast iron 2023) which was designed in 2004 provides an exterior link to Fan and both are designed in Cassell’s initial geometric, hard-edged and recognizable style. It is situated in the beautiful Hepworth Garden and can be seen to be interacting throughout the year with the ever- changing shifting of the light, the colours and structural foliage there. The six-metre-tall column tapers and expands continuously towards the top through four decreasing ovoids which give the sculpture a twisting dynamism and energy contrasting with the pattern of flickering fanned shapes which have been precisely mapped around its faceted form and reflect the geometry and symmetry found in nature. Cassell’s intention for this piece is for people to be drawn in and to feel the urge to walk around it.
The initial idea behind the design of Fan Construction came from the rotating flickering folds of many fans which appeared to Cassell as a vision during a moment of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is when many of Cassell’s ideas have been visualised and then recorded into her sketch book. The terracotta colour of the matt cast iron provides a response to the red brick of Rutland Mills, while creating a counterpoint to the concrete of The Hepworth Wakefield.
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