- P0446
- Person
Tim Lees studied Geology and Stone Masonry and trained as a geologist at Bristol University. His first one-man exhibition was in 1986 at the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol. Tim Lees has sited his sculpture on the top of the Rose in Hand coal mine, a disused drift mine overlooking the wooded Cannop Valley. Inspired by the idea of extracting material from the heart of the forest, he has cut the centre of a six-ton piece of stone from a nearby quarry and carved it into a smooth form that contrasts with the rough surfaces of the seven foot high flanking pieces. These remain standing uncarved like megalithic stones, of which there are several examples in the Dean. The central core of the stone resembles a fish leaping out of the stone, an appropriate image given the proximity of the rivers Severn and Wye, and symbolising hope and rebirth