The Sun Totem

ROLE: DESIGN & BUiLD WHERE: Bridge Farm, Bristol

I  was asked to create a decorative piece for a Carnival event organised at Bridge Farm.

Carnivals are regarded as a rite of passage from darkness to light, from winter to summer, and a celebration of the renewal of fertility and rebirth of nature. 

So to mark the return of spring & the growing season at the Farm, I created a “totem” piece inspired by the Inca Sun God, Inti. As a solar god, Inti was closely associated with agriculture as he provided the warmth and light the crops needed to grow. He was usually depicted as a golden disk from which rays and flames extended.

Initially imagined as a decorative piece to welcome visitors at the Farm, the Sun became the centrepiece of the Carnival procession and seed sowing ceremony.
It was almost entirely made of upcycled materials found in Bristol and light enough to be easily carried.
I added an element of interactivity by creating a system of handwheels, allowing participants to make the centre of the sun rotate.

Made for the collective Undergrowth 
@ Bridge Farm