This piece references the industrial past of the Tees Valley by creating connections across features of the landscape it traverses. The work engages the local community in a literal bridge building exercise. A simple gridded structure is installed over the ground in a wooded area. The structure is made from slender steel rods in an instantly apprehensible truss pattern. Members of the public add to the work over time. Both public and artist add to the work in response to what has gone before. The work grows and morphs into something less like a bridge and more like a landscape.
The Bridge is a microcosm calling into question how we choose to engage our natural environment as we shape our built environment. Will we build in negotiation with the
landscape or in conflict against it? The bridge will also highlight the value of human
creation, thought and action.
