A student artist from Sheffield Hallam will help city company, Gripple, to celebrate a quarter of a century in style – with four specially commissioned pieces inspired by his former day job.
Ian Hudson, who is a student of creative art practice, has utilised around 3,000 Gripple wire joiners and more than 1000 metres of steel cable in his artwork, so seemed a fitting choice to help the company celebrate 25 years of trading.
Ian originally started out his career as a ventilation and air-conditioning systems installer, where he used Gripple products in his work. Recognising the potential to create visually arresting art installations with Gripple’s fixtures, Ian turned his hand to an artistic career using the skills he had developed in his trade.
In response to a brief from Gripple which asked for their logo and products to be incorporated into the design, Ian created a sculpture which resembles an oversized Gripple wire joiner made from polished steel and quartz.
The sculptures will be displayed in Gripple’s offices worldwide which include headquarters in Sheffield, Chicago, New Delhi and Obernai in France. The largest sculpture will be unveiled at a special ceremony to celebrate Gripple’s 25thanniversary.
Ian said: “I feel really privileged that Gripple has decided to use my artwork to commemorate 25 years of trading. The thought that I have gone from fitting ventilation systems to having my creations showcased on three continents is very humbling.”
To see more artwork from Ian Hudson visit www.ianhudsonart.com
The unveiling of Ian’s sculptures follows the launch of the new Sheffield Institute of Art which is home to more than 2,000 students of nearly 20 different creative disciplines, including art, design, engineering, animation, architecture and photography.
The annual Sheffield Institute of Arts degree show is one of the biggest student exhibitions in the North, and attracts interest from national industry experts as well as those with an interest in the arts. For more information visit www.shu.ac.uk/degreeshow
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