Statues - Hither & Thither |
Site Search:
|
|
Leeds
West Yorkshire Yorkshire & Humberside Armouries Way |
The Fossil Tree - LeedsNational Cycle Route Marker |
Jon Mills
Taylor's Foundry (Haverhill) 2001 |
Cast iron milepost in the form of an abstract tree with relief imagery of fossils depicting the passage of time from early primitive creatures to the ultimate demise of fossil fuel driven technology. The inscription reads: "This is one of 1000 mileposts funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland to mark the creation of the National Cycle Network."
From a press release of the Royal bank of Scotland:
A puzzling treasure hunt with a secret code to crack and a unique prize for those who can solve the riddle. That is how the transport charity Sustrans describes the Millennium Time Trail. It is a new feature of the National Cycle Network which is officially launched today at 9.00am on March 20th 2001, the Spring Equinox, at 'The Home of Time', the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Each milepost has a Time Trail disc bearing symbols and hieroglyphics bolted into it. By taking rubbings of these discs it is possible to gains clues to help decipher the code. There are several layers to uncover to reach the solution and a special Ultimate Prize for those who can work it out. For many, especially children and families, the fun will be in just getting out on the Network to find the mileposts and discs.
"There are four different types of mileposts, each depicting a different theme; intriguingly, the first was designed by the artist Jon Mills and is called 'The Fossil Tree'. The design is inspired to Sigillaria, an extinct tree-like plant, with a tall, occasionally forked trunk. Its fossils are commonly found in Carboniferous deposits (about 270 millions of years ago). Mills' sculpture presents relief imagery of fossils depicting the passage of time from Cambrian to the ultimate demise of fossil fuel driven technology" (Geology in Art). The three others are designed by David Dudgeon, Iain McColl and Andrew Rowe.
An other copy we photographed in Hull, that one is painted black. We did not make photos of further copies.
Your banner here? Click for information.