The venture continues the British line of large-scale structures designed to become a tourist attraction for places devoid of "sign": the most successful example is the 20-meter "Angel of the North" by Anthony Gormley in Gateshead in the north of England.
Now the Scottish border town of Gretna, previously known (like the nearby village of Gretna Green) only as a convenient place of marriage for escaped English couples in the 18-19 centuries, should receive the same symbol. In Scotland, matrimonial laws were much more lenient than in England, and it did not make much sense to delve into its territory for the sake of a wedding, so most unions were concluded precisely in Gretna and its environs.
Now Scotland and the city of Gretna as its "gateway" should appear before travelers as "Great Unknown" - this is how the future monument from 50 to 100 m high is planned to be called. Charles Jenks, known not only as a theorist, became the artistic director of the project. architecture, but also as a master of land art. He became a co-author for all three participants in the competition and developed landscape solutions for their proposals (in all cases, the theme of a spiral and a circle is played out).
Contestants include former Arup chief engineer Cecil Balmond. Its version is presented under the motto "The Star of Caledonia" (Caledonia is the ancient Roman name for Scotland): it is a composition of curved and spiral metal strips, on which are fixed straight rods carrying lamps at their ends. They seem to sprinkle energy into the surrounding space, recalling, among other things, outstanding Scottish scientists and inventors, first of all, James Maxwell, who was the first to put forward the hypothesis that light is energy.
Chris Wilkinson, bureau chief for Wilkinson Air, designed the slender structure of three translucent sails, or petals, to represent Scotland's past, present and future. It is planned to emboss the names of prominent figures of the Scottish Enlightenment on the stone foot of the monument.
The third participant - the American artist Ned Kahn - was the only one who turned to the theme of weddings: it is developed by a stone ring in the center of the structure, also associated with megalithic "rings" of stones, which are often found in the region. Above it, on three steel supports, will hang a "blanket" - a semi-cylindrical structure made of small panels of aluminum and polished stainless steel. It will sway in the wind, reminding that the air "ocean", unlike the surface of the Earth, has no boundaries, and all people on the planet breathe the same air.
The name of the winner will be announced in July 2011.
UPD: Cecil Balmond became the winner of the competition. Further work on his project will also continue in collaboration with Charles Jenks.
N. F.
