Giant orange mole pops up at National Trust's Ilam Park
Asbestos from Nottingham is known for exploring themes of community, friendship and connection – and has previously displayed his work at Tate Modern."It's exciting for me to come to this very grand and imposing landscape and look at how I might respond to it in a completely different way," he said."The first thing I noticed when I arrived at Ilam Park was the iconic view of Thorpe Cloud, the flat-topped hill that you can see in the distance.He added: "For me it's also about trying to pull out the fun from the space, and I wanted to create something that encapsulated that."
More than 120,000 people currently visit Ilam Park every year, which is situated in a picturesque valley on the Derbyshire and Staffordshire bored.The views of the surrounding countryside have inspired artists for hundreds of years.The scene was painted onto a Wedgwood plate made for Empress Catherine the Great of Russia in the 1770s, and the site's general manager, Craig Best, said he hoped it would encourage children and adults to explore their creativity in some way.The Arts Council England funded the "Mole Hole" programme to go with the installation that includes a family adventure trail and children's craft workshops throughout the summer.As well as Ilam Hall, which is used as a youth hostel, Ilam Park also includes ornate Italian gardens, parkland, a tea room and bookshop, as well as a recently completed 1km loop of accessible pathways around the grounds.
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