Thursday 13 January 2011

A grand day out in Sheffield 6 - Nine steel balls

Outside the Winter Gardens is Millennium Square, a triangular open public space which was designed by architects Allies and Morrison as part of Sheffield's 'Heart of the City' project.  Within the 'square' is another piece of sculptural artwork, in the shape of these stainless steel spheres. Look carefully into the reflection and you can see that there are more than just the two; balls reflect in balls, reflect in balls, and actually, there are nine in total.



Created by sculptor Colin Rose, winner of the 2003 competition to create a piece of artwork for this location, the nine stainless steel spheres are designed to represent raindrops which have just landed on the surface of the square. They vary in size, the largest being two metres in diameter, and are clustered in groups scattered across the granite paving.

When the weather is not so cold, these balls are water features, their surfaces shimmering with the flow of the running water. At night, they are lit up by coloured LED lights.
(I can see yet another reason for a return trip here! This city has much more to offer than I have yet seen!)



Of course, the use of stainless steel is a celebration of the industry which made Sheffield famous across the globe, but the shape distorts the reflections, reminding me of the old fashioned Hall of Mirrors in a fairground attraction. Look carefully into this last sphere and you can make out the squashed idiot with the camera, accompanied by the friend who now appears to have an extremely eloooooongated neck!




I'm linking up with the marvellous Jenny Matlock and Alphabe-Thursday, which this week, has reached the letter 'n'.

18 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful creation although I never would have thought that somebody creates raindrops sculptures (with all the rain we have already) lol. I have seen balls like that in Morocco as a limit between the street and the beach. But they were smaller it also looked very nice on the sand.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I LOVE these! I've never been to Sheffield. I can tell you that if and when I do, there will be a lot more photos in the world of these.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely! I'd like a small one in my garden ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can you imagine a game of marbles with those big boys.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Try as I could I couldn't get more than five. I suspect you cheated in order to get it within the letter N. That's Naughty.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful and interesting thing to see! Love the reflections in those balls.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Another beautiful tribute to Sheffield's steel industry.

    ReplyDelete
  8. JDaniel would be fascinated with these. We would spend hours making faces and watching him watch himself.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What interesting art he created, with the reflection being part of the whole.

    Pretty neat!

    =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is really such superior artwork. I love it! Thanks for the great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have seven steel balls in a bowl in the dining room - but they don't compare to these!

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow! I'd like to see them in person. Steel balls representing raindrops, so cool.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I promise I didn't laugh at you and Sacristan reflected - much!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this.

    I have a fascination with spheres and this is just magical.

    This is an art installation I would very much love to see.

    Thank you for a nifty stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "N"!

    A+

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh! My! What fun sculptures :o) And I would love to see all these structures you have shared with us!

    Blessings & Aloha!
    Thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind comment :o)

    ReplyDelete
  16. beautiful sculptures! How I would love to see them in person!

    ReplyDelete