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IN ASSOCIATION
WITH
in association with

in association with in association with
Spitfire sculpture at Orbital Shopping Park

to celebrate Swindon aviation heritage
in association with
The Orbital Shopping Park in Swindon who was killed in the
North Swindon has submitted an Battle of Britain, and another figure
application to the council for a new representing the many women who
sculpture celebrating the town’s built the aircraft.
aviation heritage in the shape of a “The outlying planters and seating
Spitfire wing by Mike Pringle. that will be placed around the
The application includes sculpture will be laid out in a five
the sculpture, outlying plant pointed star, evoking the five bladed
arrangements with seating and an propeller seen on the Mk21 Spitfires,
additional seating area close to built in South Marston from 1943 to
the bus stop as part of the ongoing 1949 on the site of the modern day
renovation works on the site. Honda factory.”
Students from Isambard Mr Sanghera, head of art at
Community School have been Isambard, was particularly pleased
directly involved with the project, with the way their Year 8 students
creating designs that will be put faced the design challenge, their
into paving slabs surrounding the exploration of materials and the Conceptual digitisation of the sculpture designed by Mike Pringle for the
sculpture that has been designed to work they produced to go alongside Oribital Shopping Centre in North Swindon
resemble a Spitfire wing. the Spitfire wing centrepiece. He
Mike Pringle said: “What’s really said: “Students will now complete
exciting for me about this sculptural the paper cuts and Dr Pringle will
art work is that it really is driven by visit again to explore the possibility
what’s important about Swindon’s of some of them being turned into
past. Most people know of the inlay pavements at the Orbital. This
town’s illustrious railway heritage, was a great example of the links
but the Orbital has decided to between art and industry and the
highlight the aviation history that power of creativity. The students did
many people know very little about. us proud.”
I particularly think the inclusion
of poems and artwork provided by Pictured right: Isambard students
local schoolchildren from Haydon with a sculpture created by Andy
Wick and Haydon Leigh Primary Hazel and placed in the school to
schools and Isambard School is a represent the houses that the first
key point of the work. It gives them students in 2007 were placed into.
There are four large sculptures that
something to be proud of in their broadly feature objects associated
town, historically and today. with the house names. For example,
“The figures in the middle of the the ‘Air’ work seen here, incorporates
wing include Harold Starr, a Second elements of an aeroplane, clouds and
World War Hurricane pilot from a hairdryer.

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