Anne Bevan
b 1965, Orkney
© Michael Wolchover, Anne Bevan
About the artist
Anne Bevan studied fine art and sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art. She grew up in Orkney, close to the sea,
and surrounded by Orkney’s ancient tombs. Both the sea and ancient history have shaped her ideas for her
works. She is fascinated with water, energy, places and the physical nature of materials. Collaboration is an
important aspect of Anne’s work. She often collaborates with other artists, composers or writers to make her art.
When she is developing her ideas she also collaborates to conduct research with people from the worlds of
science, medicine and industry. You can often see these influences in her work.
© Michael Wolchover, Anne Bevan
www.educationscotland.gov.uk/marksonthelandscape
About the work
Moon Pool (2002)
The shining silver shape on the forest floor looks quite out of place. It stands out because of its colour and its
materials, which contrast with the forest’s natural tones and textures. The artist has tried to achieve a cold and
silvery appearance in the work with the ripples on the surface. As the title suggests, the sculpture sparkles like a
water pool reflected by the moon. The idea of a moonlit pool in the middle of a forest brings to mind ideas of
ancient myths, magic and folklore associated with the woods.
This work is a collaboration with the Scottish writer, Janice Galloway. If you look closely you can see bands
containing writing wrapped high around the trunks of the surrounding trees. They add to the water theme as they
are like tide marks on an old wooden pier. Janice Galloway has used words and lines of poetry to trigger the
imagination of the viewer.
© Michael Wolchover, Anne Bevan
Materials and processes
Anne places great importance on the materials that she uses and how they can help her to communicate her
ideas. She thinks about the particular properties of each material and how she can manipulate it.
The process of making the work is very important. Anne believes that casting - taking moulds - helps her to
analyse and understand things. She says, “taking a cast is like taking a print – it is the shadow of the original
object.”
www.educationscotland.gov.uk/marksonthelandscape
When she created Moon Pool, Anne was faced with the creative challenge of how to cast water.
“Through the process of trying to cast
water, I ended up at the beach, using
the readymade mould of the bottom
of the sea - rippled sand. A large
plaster cast was made during the low
ebb of a spring tide. This was used to
cast the final bronze which was then
coated in a 'fools gold' colour, to give
it a shimmering mercury-like feel.”
© Michael Wolchover, Anne Bevan
Context
This artwork has been developed in response to its chosen site. The artist knows that the pool will respond to
and change with nature and particularly the natural light as it changes from morning through day until night,
which may be pitch black or even moonlit.
Anne also likes to questions the role of public sculpture within such a context. She thinks about how people will
respond to it. It’s as though it tells its own ancient folk tale and people can become a part of the story by walking
on it and around it.
The artist has also considered the site of the artwork and its proximity to the sea and the nearby offshore oil
industry. From the forest floor you can regularly see and hear helicopters fly overhead on their way to the oilrigs.
Another interesting association is that ‘moon pool’ is the name used to describe the space in an oil platform
where divers are lowered into the sea.
Andy strives to create works that ‘operate on varying levels of interpretation’ and in this case there are also
references to the surrounding heavy goods transport, agriculture and the steel industries.
Related links
Forestry Commission Scotland – Moon Pool: Anne Bevan
www.educationscotland.gov.uk/marksonthelandscape