''Willow Man'' is a large outdoor sculpture by Serena de la Hey. It is in a field to the west of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

, near

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

in Somerset,

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

, near to the Bristol to Exeter railway line and south of junction 23 of the motorway. It stands , with a arm span, and is made of black maul willow

withies A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles.

woven over a 3-tonne steel frame. ''Willow Man'' was commissioned by South West Arts, for the Year of the Artist, and the Moate family the land owner. The sculpture was unveiled in September 2000. It marks the millennium and celebrates the role of

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

in the ecology and craft tradition of the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...

. The first sculpture was burnt down in an arson attack on 8 May 2001. The sculpture was rebuilt by the same artist in October 2001, and a circular

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

was excavated around it as a precaution against further attacks. A notable landmark, it can be described as a somehow permanent

Wicker man A wicker man was purportedly a large wicker statue in which the druids (priests of Celtic paganism) sacrificed humans and animals by burning. The main evidence for this practice is a sentence by Roman general Julius Caesar in his '' Commentary ...

sculpture. The sculpture is popularly known as Withy Man, or ''Angel of the South'' in reference to

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pla ...

's sculpture ''

Angel of the North The ''Angel of the North'' is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world and is viewed by an estimated 33 m ...

''. The name '' Angel of the South'' is now commonly used also as the unofficial title for a proposed colossal sculpture in Ebbsfleet. In September 2006, ''Willow Man'' received "a £20,000 hair cut". The sculptor Serena de la Hey said that she thought many local birds had been using the material for their nests. When the artist saw her sculpture she was "shocked to see the wear and tear". In 2018, an appeal to raise funds for the repair of the structure failed to meet its target. By 2021, the structure had further deteriorated with the head and arms having lost form.

References

External links

{{commons category, Somerset Willow Man
Serena de la Hey website

BBC Interview with Serena de la Hey
Outdoor sculptures in England Arts in Somerset Somerset Levels 2000 sculptures Buildings and structures in Sedgemoor Wooden sculptures in the United Kingdom Basket weaving M5 motorway Colossal statues in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links