Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project
The Optrex Eye Photograph
Region ID | AH | |
Work ID | 503 | |
Manual Reference | BLGW011 | |
Type | Sculpture | |
Title | The Optrex Eye | |
Sculptor | Hood, Harvey | |
Date of design | 1992 | |
Year of unveiling | 1992 | |
Unveiling details | 1992 | |
Road | A4046 | |
Precise Location | On land surrounding Festival Park Factory Shopping Village | |
A to Z Ref | ||
OS Ref | SO165076 | |
Postcode | NP23 8FP | |
Work is | Extant | |
Listing Status | Not listed | |
Duty of Care | Festival Park | |
Commissioned by | Optrex | |
Notes | ||
Information from the sculptor via Festival Park: 'The human eye is one of our most familiar images. We communicate our emotions to each other by eye contact. The eye is the only real barrier in life - it is the division between our mind and our world. This eye is modelled from Michelangelo's David - a heroic eye. It is blown up to 45 times the size of a normal eye. The large scale gives a strangely unfamiliar image close up. The eyeball lies in a landscape of emotions raised on a hill like a castle. The sculpture invites the spectator to go behind the surface and look back through the pupil, as if he is entering the mind' | ||
The Optrex Eye was commissioned by Optrex. The sponsorship of the GFW visual arts programme by Optrex was recognised by an award under the Government's Business Sponsorship Incentive Scheme, administered by the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts. | ||
A number of sculptures were commissioned for the Garden Festival of Wales in 1991/2 and some works remain on site. | ||
circa | ||
raw year | 1992 | |
Condition | Good | |
At risk | No known risk | |
Inscriptions | ||
Signatures | ||
Elements
Element Details
Part of work | Material | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
The Optrex Eye | Ferro-cement | 500cm x 430cm x 270cm |
Assessment of Condition
Surface Character
Detail | Comment |
|---|---|
No damage | |
Other | Looks grimy around edges of work but otherwise fine |
Structural Condition
Structural Condition | Comment |
|---|---|
Other | Good condition |
Vandalism
Vandalism | Comment |
|---|---|
Graffiti | Few splashes of grey paint on back of work |
