Seed

St. Phillips Square, Salford, Cast iron, 200 x 400 cm x 500mm. 2002
Client: Salford City Council.

Seed takes the form of a sycamore seed, which has been enlarged one hundred times. Cast in iron the sculpture represents new life and growth emerging from the decline of the traditional engineering and manufacturing industries. It symbolises the future and the potential this area of Salford has to grow and prosper from the seeds that were planted by the 2002 Regeneration Strategy.

Interestingly Bees wings feature on Salford’s Armorial Bearings of the City, referring to the textiles and engineering industries that thrived in the City.  Seed could be taken to look similar to a giant pair of bee’s wings and this visual relationship also links the sculpture with traditional imagery and symbols used to identify the City of Salford.