Kurt Schwitters' Merz Barn 75th Anniversary Event 2022

One of my earliest artistic influences was Kurt Schwitters so to be commissioned to create an outdoor sculpture as part of the 75th anniversary of the Merz Barn Project was a great honour. 

The event told the story of how German Dada artist Kurt Schwitters came to Ambleside in the heart of The English Lake District as a refugee in 1945, where he met landscape designer Harry Pierce at Cylinders Estate, and began working on what is considered to be his last Merz Bau.

 

Now a flourishing nature reserve dedicated to preserving the legacy of Schwitters, the site hosted a selection of contemporary artists, architects and local designers, who came together to make new works in response to the landscape and history of the place.

 

 

A selection of art installations were in support of Ukrainian refugees, including an architectural monument buried in the natural woodland, the ‘дітей - Children of Mariupol’ exhibition, and the ‘Bunker’.