The Quantum Leap
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Quantum Leap'' is a
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
situated next to the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
in
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was created to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of evolutionist
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, who was born in the town in 1809. The sculpture was unveiled on 8 October 2009 by
Randal Keynes Randal Hume Keynes, OBE, FLS ( ; born 29 July 1948) is a British conservationist, author, and great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin. Family background Keynes was born in Cambridge, England. He is the son of the Hon. Anne Pinsent (née Adri ...
, a great-great-grandson of Darwin.


Details

''The Quantum Leap'' is the main point of a 'Geo-Garden', converted from Mardol Quay Gardens on the town centre bank of the Severn. In addition to Darwin himself, it celebrates Shropshire's geological diversity due to the county containing 10 of the 12
geological periods The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochron ...
. Darwin interested himself in geology during his Shropshire childhood. The sculpture consists of 59 segments measuring 12 metres (40 feet) in height, 17.5 metres (57 feet) in length, and weighs more than 113 tonnes, excluding foundations and piles. The work is abstract, and due to its Darwinian theme is commonly interpreted as representing
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
bones, DNA, or a
backbone The backbone is the vertebral column of a vertebrate. Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Backbone'' (1923 film), a 1923 lost silent film starring Alfred Lunt * ''Backbone'' (1975 film), a 1975 Yugoslavian drama directed by Vlatko Gilić M ...
. In local media, often in a negative sense, it has been nicknamed 'The
Slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its ow ...
' due to its perceived similarity to the coiled-wire toy. It was designed by
Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...
-based architectural firm Pearce & Lal, who revealed their design in July 2008. Architect Ranbir Lal, of Pearce & Lal, stated "It is a privilege to work on a memorial to Charles Darwin. We hope that the sculpture we have designed in his memory expresses the vitality and range of his ideas, and brings them alive to the people of modern-day Shrewsbury." Each of the blades of the sculpture were made by Histon Concrete Products, based in Ely,
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
.


Costs

Funding to the sculpture from taxes was initially taken from the inhabitants of the Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council, but structural changes in English local government put into effect on 1 April 2009 abolished the borough and created the larger
Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire (district), Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers ...
area. The sculpture's final total cost was revealed as £450,000 at the time of the sculpture's unveiling. The original cost to the taxpayer was expected to be around £200,000 but in May 2009 a change in the supporting structure was required when the contractors found themselves unable to get the frame on site because of a tree root protection area. Additional work was required in August 2009, when it was found that one of the sculpture's pieces was reportedly out by around 18 inches. The public cost eventually rose to around £308,000 by September 2009. In November 2012 it was revealed that the final cost of the sculpture exceeded £1 million, and that the council had rejected the opportunity to pay just £600,000 to contractors Alun Griffiths, on the advice of construction solicitors Hill International. Hill International had expected a final cost of around £200,000. Alun Griffiths were paid £860,000 for their contracting, with Hill International making £100,000. Councillor Steve Charmley (
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
), the council's cabinet member who inherited responsibility for the sculpture, stated "There won't be another Quantum Leap. In the financial climate we are in, there is no way we are going to be building a concrete structure on the river bank in the future". George Candler, the council's area director, revealed that all of the Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council staff who were responsible for the sculpture had left their posts on the borough's abolition or soon after. Jon Tandy, a
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
councillor, stated his disapproval that the sculpture had cost more than the much larger and renowned £800,000 ''
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 ...
'' near
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
, stating "It is unbelievable. Even the ''Angel of the North'' cost less. It 'The Quantum Leap''should never have been built. I realised, and 99% of the general population realised, that we were wasting money".


See also

*
Commemoration of Charles Darwin Commemoration of Charles Darwin began with geographical features named after Darwin while he was still on the ''Beagle'' survey voyage, continued after his return with the naming of species he had collected, and extended further with his increa ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quantum Leap Outdoor sculptures in England Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury 2009 sculptures Concrete sculptures in England