Sculptor on cloud nine with Chelsea commission

A Cork-based German sculptor is looking to make a splash at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, as his latest creation is set to feature prominently in an award-winning British designer’s exhibition at the world famous garden event.

Ballydehob bronze sculptor Holger Lönze has been commissioned to create a water feature by Hugo Bugg, the Royal Horticultural Society’s 2010 Young Designer of the Year, who has recently been appointed by the Princess of Jordan to design the new Royal Botanic Garden in Tell Ar-Rumman.

A mutual connection with Graepel Perforators in Kinsale led to Hugo Bugg contacting Mr Lönze about the collaboration for May’s Chelsea Flower Show.

Standing at almost three metres tall, the bronze rectangular piece is an abstract cloud, designed with a series of geometrically positioned trays that collects and feeds water into the garden.

"It is a storm water garden. It’s designed for dealing with huge amounts of water, the type of storms we’ve had in recent months. Its layout is how the water is absorbed in the landscape. The piece I am doing is the water entry feature, where the water comes into the garden. It’s in the shape of a large cloud, but very abstract," Mr Lönze said.

The piece, which took seven weeks to design, is ready to be shipped to England this week.

"In terms of the size and complication of the piece, it is actually fairly simple in comparison to other work, but it is certainly one of the most prestigious events I have worked for so far. Considering it is really a temporary piece, which is only there for a few days, it is quite different from the work I usually do, which is more contemporary permanent public art work," the sculptor, who first moved to Ireland in 1995, said.

Hugo Bugg’s exhibition, the ‘RBC Waterscape Garden’, will go on display at the 2014 Chelsea Flower Show from May 20-24.