Monumental Stainless Steel Sculpture Commission
Grade 316 stainless steel
Slightly larger than life-size
Part of a six-sculpture site-specific commission
Private business sculpture garden, Isle of Man
Original six-piece commission: approximately £100,000 + VAT
Similar individual pig commissions: from approximately £15,000 + VAT
Prodigal Pigs forms part of a major six-piece sculptural commission created for a privately owned business and sculpture garden on the Isle of Man.
The brief was to tell the story of the Prodigal Son through a series of monumental contemporary sculptures positioned throughout the landscape. The completed collection consists of the father, the son, a calf and three pigs, creating a sequence of individual works that together form a wider narrative.
The human figures stand at approximately eight feet tall, giving the collection a deliberately larger-than-life presence within the landscape. The pigs were developed at a similarly substantial scale so that they sit comfortably alongside the figures and retain their visual impact within the extensive garden setting.
Telling a story through sculpture
The pigs represent an important point within the story of the Prodigal Son.
Having left home and exhausted his inheritance, the son finds himself working among pigs before finally deciding to return to his father. Within the wider sculptural collection, the pigs therefore help establish the sense of journey, hardship and eventual reconciliation that runs through the narrative.
Rather than treating them simply as supporting elements, I wanted each pig to work as an individual sculpture in its own right.
Their forms were developed to have weight, movement and character, while the simplified stainless-steel treatment keeps them visually connected to the contemporary language of the accompanying figurative sculptures.
Developed closely with the client
The client was involved throughout the development of the commission.
Projects of this scale evolve through considerable discussion and experimentation. Numerous drawings and design ideas were explored before the final compositions were agreed, followed by a series of sculptural maquettes that allowed the proportions, poses and relationships between the individual works to be assessed in three dimensions.
This collaborative process was particularly important because the six sculptures needed to work both individually and collectively.
The client's ideas, the biblical narrative, the landscape and the relationship between the different sculptures all influenced the finished collection.
Monumental sculpture in 316 stainless steel
The sculptures were fabricated in grade 316 stainless steel, chosen for its strength, durability and resistance to corrosion in an exposed island environment.
At this scale, creating an animal sculpture requires far more than simply enlarging a smaller form. Proportion, structure, balance and surface treatment all need to be reconsidered so that the finished piece retains a convincing sense of character when viewed from both close range and across a landscape.
The reflective surface of the stainless steel also allows the pigs to change continually with their surroundings. Sky, vegetation, architecture and changing weather move across the surface, helping the sculptures sit within the landscape despite their substantial scale.
A six-piece sculptural commission
The complete commission — father, son, calf and three pigs — had a value of approximately £100,000 + VAT.
It is a good example of how a larger commission can develop beyond a single sculpture into a collection of related works that tell a story across a garden, estate, commercial property or public landscape.
I work directly with private collectors, businesses, landscape designers, art consultants and organisations to develop site-specific sculpture at this scale.
Projects can begin with a story, belief, piece of local history, landscape, architectural setting or an existing work from my portfolio, with drawings and maquettes used to develop the final direction collaboratively.
Similar individual stainless-steel animal commissions currently begin at approximately £15,000 + VAT, depending on scale, complexity, location and installation requirements.
For larger multi-piece or site-specific commissions, please get in touch to discuss the setting, ideas and possibilities.