In 2008 we were invited to create a sculptural installation for the gardens of Sudeley Castle – interpreting the theme ‘art and play’.
Our response, Reconstruction 3, reinterprets and effectively reinvents the playground slide – providing an open-ended object/experience suitable for both children and adults.
Z-stream constitutes a ribbon, sourced from a fissure in the garden landscape. In contrast to conventional climb-descend slides, it provides two adjacent ‘descend’ experiences – one fast, one relatively slow. Access to slide points is achieved via a set of gill-like steps, which also function as a screen, behind which children can play within a sheltered space.
In its totality, Z-stream facilitates both a temporal experience and a symbolic object, embodying differing speeds of geological and pastoral time.
Z-stream was constructed from lacquered fiberglass, matt rubber and within, milled polystyrene with steel reinforcements. It is anchored at three points to ensure rigidity and is designed for use in different locations, either on a plinth, a flat surface or as was the case at Sudeley Castle, a partially buried object.
