Snowflakes (Oasis John Williams Academy)

As part of the development of the new school, Bristol City Council commissioned Situations to lead on the selection of an artist and the development of a work for the building / landscape. 

Anna Barriball was appointed in 2010 and developed the work over that last 2 years, working closely with the school development team, comprising the school head, staff, pupils, and other stakeholders. The final work, ‘Snowflakes’, is a transient work across the schools public realm featuring an entire school year group, with 720 unique hand made paper snowflakes, transferred using spraypaint to the physical space of the school yard and public realm. 

As well as the painted snowflakes, the project produced two books with images of all the flake templates with the names of the person who made them. One book is held at the Academy, the other is in the collection of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. A limited edition poster map was also made for everyone who took part in the project, showing all the locations of each contributors’ flake. 

To read more about this commission visit Situations, UWE the producers of the commission at Anna Barriball, Snowflakes – Situations.

Anna Barriball 

Anna Barriball’s work often involves minimal interventions through drawing and sculpture. Much of her practice explores and depicts the accretion of time – from the length of time it takes for a candle to burn down to the repetitious activity of taking graphite rubbings from objects that bare the traces of their use or function. In her hands a map of the world is transformed into a strange expanse of shimmering substance, or the bounce of a rubber ball on a piece of paper creates the effect of a cosmic explosion. Her interventions produce objects that combine a minimalistic rigour and the seemingly endless endeavour to make sense of the world of objects by empirical study. Anna Barriball’s is represented by Frith Street Gallery, UK.