Shapling - Simon Watkinson 2018

Overview

Simon Watkinson's Shapling is set within the lodges at Kielder Waterside and functions both as an orientation point and utility store screen at Kielder Waterside.

Fabricated from self-weathering steel (the same material used to make The Angel of the North), during the day Shapling presents a hard, rugged feel. However, in the evening its softer side emerges as a hidden lighting system transforms it into a mosaic of colour changing squares.

Shapling’s industrial look and materials make reference to the people who first planted the forest, many of who came from the mining communities and shipyards of North East England.

Its name, ‘Shapling’, evokes ideas of metamorphosis and change; the re-direction of manual skills that enabled Kielder's constantly evolving living landscape to be created.