Trails
Caledonia
Caledonia, made for the trail at Twechar, reflects the historical Roman site, valleys and hilltops, bracken covered expanses, open far reaching views and dense forestry. The landscape, with its scars, marks and changes, testify to the history and story of the area. The trail also has an impressive Trig point on top of Castle Hill, which has become a destination point for Twechar villagers on their communal new years day walk. For this trail, Trevor has created 3 works, all of which share a visual connection through the strong white verticality of the pillar or Vanessa form. Trevor elected to use newly cast ‘Vanessas’ as an integral part of his works for several reasons. Trig points act as strong visual markers for walkers; they create a common visual language across the works; the Romans are thought to be the first civilization to have developed concrete; and there is a Trig point further along the trail on Castle Hill. This work, ‘Caledonia’ – the Roman name for Scotland -was also the name of the heavily wooded swathes of Scotland in which the brown Caledonian bear roamed. Made of white marble aggregate concrete and pigmented concrete, the Caledonian bear was captured by the Romans and used as entertainment in the Roman Circus. This narrative has been updated within Twechar folklore, by local Author Skip Hopkins, and his Coachie Bear Tales. Coachie Bear is said to live in the forest and is there to protect the locals. The form of this piece relates directly to the idea of a friendly Coachie Bear.