Hill33 at Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

News – Visitors to the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail this autumn will be in for a surprise of epic proportions, now that artist David Cotterrell’s new 1,300 tonne Hill33 has been unveiled.

With its inventive use of unusual materials, huge scale and contemplative surroundings in the heart of the forest, David Cotterrell’s latest creation Hill33 is set to astound, perplex and perhaps even puzzle visitors to the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail this autumn.

Officially opened to members of the public on Saturday 9 October 2010, the new artwork weighs in at 1,300 tonnes and stretches right up into the trees at 11-metres in height – making it the largest sculpture on the four-mile trail by far.

Said to have been inspired by both the Mayan temples hidden within the South America rainforests and Cotterrell’s time spent as a war artist, the pyramid sculpture is constructed using HESCO which is a material used to make British troops’ bunkers in countries such as Afghanistan, and is filled with landfill from a coal mine.

Jake McQueen, a spokesperson for HESCO Bastion Ltd, the company that produces these materials, said: ‘To the best of our knowledge, HESCO walls and bunkers have never been used to form an artwork so imaginative and exciting.’

Constructed in two weeks by Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers on a training exercise, the sculpture has been designed to gradually change over time and is expected to be overcome by the plant-life that surrounds it, blending into the forest and transforming into a new experience for visitors.

For more information see Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail.

Michelle Byrne