Public Art Research Archive, Sheffield Hallam University
PUBLIC ART IN SHEFFIELD

Gillian Brent
'Sheafscape', 2003
Saxon Road
cut and welded steel, painted blue

Location:
On the bank of the River Sheaf on Saxon Road, Heeley; the three gates are located opposite to Clyde Road. (A-Z p111 1E)

Description:
The middle of three gates errected on the site of three former 'snow gates' . Made in cut and welded steel, painted blue. The design incorporates cut pieces of sheet metal, in the shape of factory and house roof-tops in silhouette, attached to the main body of the gate. The gate is non-functional as it has no hinge.

Inscriptions:
An onsite plaque states:
'Sheafscape'/ Funded by Awards for All grant/ Created by artist Gillian Brent and/ students at All Saints Catholic High School/ Spring 2003

Commission:
This is one of three such 'Snow gates' commissioned to replace three wooden gates that had formerly stood on this site but had fallen into a state of disrepair. The original plan had been to restore the gates, and to add decorative features, but it was found that they were beyond repair. The idea had originated with the 'Friends of the River Sheaf' and was supported by the 'Heely Development Trust' who subsequently took the project over. Funding came from an 'Awards for All' grant of £4,860 to cover the provision of the three gates. Six artists submitted proposals in September 2002 and, from these, three artists were commissioned to produce a gate; each to work with pupils from a different local school.

Comment:
The original function of a snow gate was to give access to a river so that snow cleared from the road could be deposited there. At other times these same gates could be used to provide access for firemen in need of water. There are still a few snow gates extant in Sheffield; for example six others in Heely. The siting of these gates is a small part of a larger project to make the Sheaf accessible to walkers and other users so that eventually it may be possible to walk, run or cycle along paths adjacent to the river from the moors on Sheffield's western fringes to the city centre.

The other snow gates were made by:
Don Cameron: 'Equilibrium'
James Stringer: 'River of Life'
More images of this piece


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Last updated September 19, 2006