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New sculpture artist inspired by 'movement of athletes'

01 June 2011

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Artist Barnaby Gorton, creator of Surrey Sports Park's new mural named ‘Movement In Steel’ has revealed his inspiration for the sculpture as the 'movement of athletes'.

The mural was commissioned by the University of Surrey and was unveiled on Friday at Surrey Sports Park by Allan Wells MBE.

The 3D sculpture depicts a number of sports in action and welcomes arriving guests in the entrance foyer of Surrey Sports Park.

Commenting upon the inspiration for the mural, Gorton said: “As soon as I entered the space I knew I wanted to create a 3D piece. The University was keen to have a variety of sports represented, so I started to draw and make models. I was inspired by the image of a bouncing ball in time-lapse photographs. The more I worked with this I noticed it was reflected in so many other rhythms found in the movement of athletes.”

The process of developing the sculpture involved refining designs and making a half-scale models. From these Gorton drew full-scale line drawings, which were then digitised and made ready for a laser cutter.

“I chose an aluminium alloy because of the lightness, rigidity and the finish I could achieve, said Gorton. Once all 83 pieces were shaped they were then polished and made ready for the installation. The basket ball player was made from hand cut African wood with the edges gold-leafed; this was to balance the hardness of the machine-cut aluminium alloy.”

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Artist, Barnaby Gorton

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Basketball player sculpture

Movement in Steel

Allan Wells MBE, Barnaby Gorton, Vice Chancellor Christoper Snowden and Surrey Sports Park Chief Executive Paul Blanchard