Resonance 2024. Materials: steel, mirrored steel and brass, approx. 2 m x 1 m
Created for the formal gardens of Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park, this piece elevates the voices of women in history.
The sculpture represents the family tree, but subverts the conventional familial line by placing the women of Mount Edgcumbe at its centre — specifically, the mothers of the noblemen. Each circle depicts the life of one woman: its radius represents the number of children she had, and its depth how long she lived. The ebb and flow of the circles as you circumnavigate the circular flowerbed are reminiscent of the nearby Plymouth Sound, the rings then ripple outward into the circular flower beds, reflecting the historical significance each woman held for this place.
At the top, a circle of mirrored steel belongs to Joan Durnford, who owned the land in her own right when she married into the Edgcumbes — a remarkable distinction in the 1400s. Further down, a brass circle honours Emma Gilbert, perhaps the most vivid of these women: a notorious gambler who kept a pet pig named Cupid.
To read a diary compiled from the fragments of history I uncovered about these women, scan the QR code to visit their Facebook page, Mothers of MEN.
