northcabin – Laying the Bounds

northcabin is a temporary commissioning programme taking place in a disused operating cabin on Redcliffe Bridge, Bristol. northcabin commissions emerging artists to produce unique and ambitious artworks for the public realm. 

Helen de Main, Laying the Bounds, 20 August – 20 September 2009 (sculpture)
Helen de Main’s new commission built on the site of the cabin as a prominent position within the city and commented on the current regeneration climate. By encasing the cabin from within, the artist demonstrated the different traditions in which existing buildings are re-developed and come to contain distinct other forms. The work created a second space inside the cabin with a contrasting set of references, creating a tension between the two structural forms, which challenged perceived hierarchies between architectural structures.