Iron Reef
The Iron Reef is a Public Art commission by Norfolk County Council. Together with other four dynamic artworks, it forms the Norfolk Way Art Trail, a public art trail spanning 250 miles of Norfolk, England. This initiative is founded by EXPERIENCE, a project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg France (Channel) England Programme. Led by Norfolk County Council, it aims to deliver innovative and sustainable growth via a new tourism strategy.
The Iron Reef celebrates the historical and ecological heritage of Reedham Ferry and the Norfolk landscape. Inspired by the anthropised landscape, it is an amphibious structure which can live on both earth and water. Being cyclically submerged by the winter tides, it emerges as a landmark between the reeds, while its perception changes throughout the year, creating mirroring and everchanging reflections. The curved, light metallic structure climbs to the sky, undulating in the wind, creating a perspective view of the water and the horizon. The artwork is an observation device, that encourages a respectful tourist approach to the Broads. People are invited to interact with it, following the walkway, and reaching the end of the platform to observe the landscape through the season's changes.
The Iron Reef is a site-specific sculpture, interacting with the site and its landscape as a performance. Rebars are its vertical elements, they tie the natural environment evoking the reeds, gently oscillating on the horizon, and connect to the metal mechanisms of the ferry and its rusted patina. The materiality embraces time alterations, referencing to the industrial and nautical tradition of Reedham Ferry, the underwater ruins created by the water, and the micro-fluorescence appearing in them. The tides from the river modify the material, adding patina and oxidation as a performance of colour. Those phenomena give life to a precious layer of microorganismal life: an essential language which integrates the artwork with the living landscape surrounding it.
This permanent large-scale artwork invites visitors to contemplate the seasonal changes on the River Yare. Reeds are soft green in the warm months and golden in the cold season; their feather-like flowers are purple and silver. Winter tides mirror the rebars, vanishing the line between the land and the water.
