top of page

A Matter Of Facts

Paul Cooper 1984

All the evidence points to a sculpture being built in Grizedale by Paul Cooper, which was quite possibly entitled 'A Matter Of Facts'. An article from former arts supplement Aspects Journal, which Amelia Harvey has reproduced in full on her page, features a piece from Cooper, where he says:

"The site for my work at Grizedale was found by accident, being attracted by a distant source of daylight penetrating the gloom of the forest floor. The reason for the light was a lofty, rocky outcrop, devoid of trees, and which rose up almost to the top of the surrounding trees. Shaped like an arena, here the forest canopy gave way to an uninterrupted view of the sky. If I chose this site, then the light and the sky would be factors to be considered.

It wasn't until I had experienced working there for several weeks, collecting building materials, that the present solution for the site was resolved. A structure suggesting machinery but translated into stone, as if petrified. Often all that remains of a disused industrial working is the stone architecture that housed it. The machinery is either long gone, or has been hidden or disintegrated by the cleansing processes of nature - another fact not to be ignored in the sculpture."

bottom of page