Fine Art student wins new public art award

This is the inaugural year of the competition for which students were invited to respond to a location on Farnham’s Borelli Walk and propose a public art installation.

Katherine Bouleau’s winning proposal ‘Five Fishes’ draws inspiration from the nature and geology of the River Wey, and from Charles Borelli’s links with the Arts and Crafts movement in Farnham. Her sculpture’s centrepiece is an alder tree cone that would be made of bronze or fossilised limestone, supported by three bronze bullrushes. Water would flow from the top of the cone, and water-spouting fishes, mayflies, caddisflies, and a kingfisher are attached to the bullrush stems.

Katherine said: "'I am delighted and honoured to have been selected as the winner of the first Farrow Public Art Award. My design was inspired by the stream that runs through my garden, which has been my outdoor studio and with which I have been co-creating as a living entity over the past year.

"This process of careful observation and coexistence has reinforced how all species, including human beings are critically interconnected, and allowed me to intimately observe the wildlife that inhabits our local waterways. I hope that my design inspires people to connect to the natural world and to remember that we too are a part of nature, not apart from it."

Judged by a panel of representatives from the Farnham Public Art Trust, UCA Farnham and Farnham Town Council, the winner joined four other finalists – Kushi Halai, James Lord, Ivan Wai Laam Chang, Ahmed Umer.

The finalists were asked to submit a maquette (a small model) of their design, along with a proposal that explained how it related to the site and how the public might interact with it.

All the finalists responded in distinct ways with contrasting themes inspired by the location, history and use of the site, which also included a cycling dismount installation and an interactive staircase of suitcases.

John Neale, Chair of Farnham Public Art Trust, sponsors of the award, said: “We wanted to encourage students to imagine what public art can be, while practising what would be required for public art commissions in the real world.

“Our award isn’t a commission; it is for an idea and the successful communication of it. We wanted to give the students the freedom to be ambitious, with credible and professional proposals.”

The winning student received a £500 prize, donated by The Estelle Trust, a charity founded by the Farrow family to support education and the arts.

Sue Farrow is well known to the Farnham community, having been active in the town for over 30 years and a founding member of the Public Art Trust. Sue alongside artist Jonathan Parsons helped set up the award and also judged the student entries.

The models and proposals are on display at an exhibition in the UCA Foyer Gallery from 17 to 29 April, Monday to Friday 9am - 6pm.

To learn more about studying Fine Art at UCA, visit the course pages.