Isla

24 feet tall and made from 4,000 individual resin pieces, John Grade’s eye-catching sculpture Isla is suspended above the upper part of the Westwood Valley at Wakehurst.

Part of this summer's Nourish installation, John Grade’s artwork is inspired by plants of the genus Espeletia (Frailejones) that grow in the Páramo ecosystems high in the South American Andes. Like them, the sculpture collects and releases water, changing its shape as it does so: however, today's dry sunny weather gave us no opportunity of seeing this aspect of the work in action.

Today's 'Extras' show the 'classic' viewing angle of the sculpture from the head of the valley, and another view of the suspension arrangements on the left hand side of the 'anchor' tree in the foreground of the main photo.