Clasp

2007

A permanent sculpture commissioned for the inauguration of the Mary Seacole Building, Salford University Campus, England.


The origin for the sculpture was made in response to the nature of the Mary Seacole Building - a place of learning for nurses and other medics. Mary Seacole is an important icon for working women; a heroine of the Crimean War and an innovative figure for the nursing profession. ‘Clasp’ represents a nurturing gesture - it forms the interior space when two hands are gently clasped as if protecting a delicate life.

Originally formed from wet clay squeezed between the hands, hundreds of maquette (models) were made, including some by students from Albion High School in Salford. One of the maquettes was chosen as the final model, enlarged in the studio into a plaster original, and cast into iron at Hargreaves Foundary in Halifax. The cast iron form has been oxidised to create rich rust red, acknowledging the colour used for the facia on the building.

The sculpture has been carefully placed to correspond to and continue the sweeping, outward and optimistic motion of the building.

The sculpture was made in association with Architects Atherden Fuller Leng.