visual ambiguity of the elipse, a subject that has long fascinated me.’ Eliasson and MacFarline
developed the work over autumn 2021 and winter 2022. MacFarlane – probably the UK’s most successful and celebrated nature writer – knows the Copeland area of the Lake District well, and proposed that the prehistoric
cup-and-ring symbols found in abundance here be part of the artwork’s visual language. He says: ‘Our work provides a clear destination to the visitor: they make the journey out to the coast in order to park and walk to the exact location on the viewing platform where the anamorphic illusion “works” on them.’
He hopes the work will expand peoples’ idea of the area’s attractions beyond the mountains and lakes for which the area is famous. It is part of a wider programme of permanent artworks to highlight the overlooked beauties in the region, including new pieces of writing and an artist residency.
PROJECT INFO Client
Copeland Borough Council
Funding HM Government’s Coastal Communities Fund and Sellafield Ltd’s Six Social Impact programme