Futurecity has been appointed to curate and project manage an exciting and ambitious public art programme for Berewood, a 516-acre residential development by Grainger PLC within the West of Waterlooville area of South Hampshire.
Winchester City Council, Havant Borough Council and Grainger PLC selected London-based art, landscape and architecture practice ‘Wayward’ to deliver ‘Grow, Grow, Grow Your Boat’, a living sculpture of large growing oaks shaped by a sculptural steel frame to create a one-to-one scale ship’s hull, based on HMS Victory. Grow, Grow, Grow Your Boat draws on the role of the ancient woodland of the Forest of Bere in supplying oak for shipbuilding from the 16th to 18th centuries. The artwork creates a play space, living architecture and creative sustainable water systems.
Futurecity curators Andy Robinson and Niamh Sullivan led a competition for artists to propose a public art project that brought together artwork in the public realm with community engagement.
The Forest of Bere has an extraordinary nautical history that links the ancient woodlands to some of the country’s most famous ships and their compelling histories from the 16th to 18th centuries. The forest was an important source for mature oak trees for shipbuilding, used to build warships and merchant ships, at Southampton, Portsmouth, and later at Bucklers Hard near Beaulieu.
Trees were often restricted by chains to encourage them to grow into the particular shapes needed for ship- building, for example a ‘knee’ to support a deck – planning ahead by perhaps 50 years.
It is this history of shaping and manipulating living trees for shipbuilding that has inspired Wayward’s proposal – to create a living sculpture that evolves with a new town and a growing community.
Wayward have proposed a two strand commission; two living sculptures, one at the Gateway of the first phase of Berewood and one in the new, public Town Park; and a series of community engagement projects.
- The Town Park – a living sculpture of oak trees and steel that will eventually grow into a scale model of the HMS Victory, alongside a model boating pond, bringing a new and active programme to the park.
- The Gateway – a living sculpture of oak trees and steel that serves as a beacon and identity marker for the Berewood and West of Waterlooville.
- The Engagement Programme – which includes a Nautical Forest School, Model Boat Building workshops, and a community-wide campaign to grow a boat from 700 acorns.
Wayward is a landscape, architecture and art practice based in London – an award-winning collective of designers, artists and urban growers. Since 2006, Wayward has pioneered new methodologies in the creative use of underutilised land, transforming derelict sites into large-scale, design-driven spaces that engage local communities and inspire international audiences. Their critically acclaimed projects include the Urban Physic Garden, a pop-up urban garden of medicinal plants built by over 200 volunteers, and the Queen’s Walk Window Gardens on London’s South Bank, visited by an estimated 8 million people.