The Purdown Man.
Edition: limited edition map to accompany landwork
Place of publication: Bristol City Coucil
Language: eng
Description: Celebrating the historic use of figures in the landscape whilst referring to public accessibility
on green land within the city, artist Annie Lovejoy has created a landwork in Bristol named
locally as “The Purdown Man”.
The figure in the landscape is made up of 5,000 ecologically-friendly Ox-eye daisies which
have flowered and will continue to flower annually for the summer months and will be allowed
to self-seed.
Commissioned the Bristol City Council’s Arts Development Unit and Parks and funded by
South West Arts, the work is part of a national programme of artists residencies for Year of
the Artist.
Due to the nature of the work, the project has involved collaboration with grounds
maintenance and horticultural specialists who have contributed to the realisation of this
extensive work.
The man is planted on the open parkland that is owned and managed by the Parks dept
which has expansive views of Bristol cityscape and leads the way to various footpaths to
Stoke Park. Stoke Park is an area of historical and ecological significance. The extensive
gardens were created in the late 1700’s by the landscape designer and astronomer Thomas
Wright. The man points the way to the expanse of green landscape of the Park and
surrounding open space that it available for discovery through walking and easily accessible
from the centre of Bristol.
“I wanted to create a work that celebrated the preservation of an intriguing landscape easily
accessible via public rights of way from the inner city. The familiar pedestrian symbol is
recreated in urban parkland and has been named ‘the Purdown Man’ by the local residents: it
is a work that draws on the hisory of figurative icons in the landscape”.
To accompany the work, a full-colour illustrated leaflet that describes the walk and the artwork
itself has been produced and is available from the Tourist Information Centre, community
venues, local libraries, shops, post offices and Arts Development Unit. (0117) 922 3694
Notes: A guide to Purdown, Bristol.
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