The 'Predator' project: Mirrored sculptures making human forms blend with surroundings

Vestige 2009 ~  Rob Mulholland

The artist Rob Mulholland made these figures with mirrored stainless steel and has designed similar installations for the forest trail around Loch Ard in David Marshall Lodge near Loch Lomondare  Aberfoyle, Scotland. Mr Mulholland said:  ‘The idea behind the installations was to convey the changes that have occurred in the landscape over the last few hundred years.

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vestige

ˈvɛstɪdʒ/    noun       1. a trace or remnant of something that is disappearing or no longer exists

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Before the First World War this area of Scotland was open hillside with small sheep farming Crofts [ farms ] and rural communities. The crofters were moved to other land by the government as there was a desperate need for timber after the war. The area was planted with fast growing conifer trees suitable for harvesting softwood and the landscape altered once again.

You can still see the faint outlines of the crofts and past settlements within the forest. This intrigued Rob Mulholland who wanted to find a visual form that would represent the past inhabitants of this land.

Nicknamed the predator effect after the 1987 film where an alien life form seamlessly blends into its surroundings these surreal statues represent, as the artist states:   "The human desire to leave a trace of ones-self for future generations, it's always intrigued me. It's a driving force to create and leave a semblance of our-selves as individuals and society. The reflective figures ask us to look again and consider the symbiotic relationship we have with our natural and man-made environment."

Contemporary artist Rob Mulholland with one of his statues

A 'Weird Wood' indeed, I would have loved to have stumbled across this one misty day at dusk, I wonder what my reaction would be !   On reflection ..........

An atmospheric little video set to the music of Clannad

Source:

http://www.robmulholland.co.uk/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news