#HTE

An Inflated Roof of Spikes Protrude From a Crumbling Scottish Gatehouse

Three white inflatable installations protrude from the landscape in Scotland’s Mellerstain’s House and Gardens, works that inhabit both two aging structures and a lake that belongs to the estate built in 1725. The installations, which are collectively titled XXX, are by environmental artist Steven Messam (previously) and aim to present a contemporary twist on the marble sculptures that were meant to originally decorate the home’s grounds.

As of this year the grounds have been opened as a site for open-air contemporary works, with Messam’s pieces creating the first exhibition at the newly opened Borders Sculpture Park. Scattered, a series of 6 to 13-foot spheres bob on the surface of the lake, available for investigation by the small canoes one can rent on site. Pointed (pictured), a spiked protrusion from the former gatehouse of the estate, fills the center of the building, extending out only from the roof in a series of 28 10-foot peaks. Finally, Towered juts out from the center of the crumbling old laundry building in a series of tubes, its columns reaching the tallest at over 26-feet high.

The County Durham-based artist mainly works outside of the gallery, producing ephemeral installations like 2015’s PaperBridge which spanned a small English creek with 22,000 perfectly stacked pieces of bright red paper. You can see more from his XXX installation, and view future Border Sculpture Park exhibitions on their Instagram. (via DesignBoom)