AUSTIN WRIGHT

Although I had a nodding acquaintance with the work of Austin Wright, it was the publication of a photograph of the Roppa Moor Rings, on the cover of the late lamented publication, Artscene, which sent me scurrying off to the top of Yorkshire which, of course, is another way of saying "to the top of the World".

Alas! I was too late. This once impressive sculpture had been irretrievably mutilated. It is a tribute to the integrity of Austin Wright's vision that this apparently abstract work should, by the removal of a part, appear so pitifully brutalised and forlorn.

The magnificence of the landscape should not allow us to forget that this remote desolation was man-made. Like tumuli, the rings were both a proud affirmation of man's presence in the region, and a monument to his passing.

According to the artist, the inspiration was as simple as the outline of fallen apples in his garden, pelves, or an eye; but the symbolism was more profound and diverse. Like all works of art, the Rings represented an achievment for the artist, but a commencement for the observer.

Although The Rings suffered further insult, and now nothing remains to testify to their existence on the high moors, the maquette was later purchased by the City of York. The maquette will be on display at York Art Gallery until 2007.

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